Black Orchid
by Doomboy2000
Summary: The Heartless have returned, and Sora is powerless to stop them. A chance encounter with a girl who's lost her way may be the universe's only chance for salvation. Things seem the same, but is the threat really a black and white matter?
1. Leaving Home

Welcome: Started redoing all the chapters, cleaning up spelling errors and such.  
To start: I don't own nuthin' but my own junk (Arc, Orchid, Eriks, Malias, maybe more)

* * *

How lazy are the ages.

History repeats itself, constantly. There may be different people, or different names, but the template they're plugged into is still the same. You turn the page, only to be greeted by more words. They're words you haven't read, but it's still the same book…

-

It was getting harder to breathe. Harder to keep swinging. Harder to resist. There were endless amounts of them, and more just kept forming. The darkness was closing in on him, and he had no escape. Sora was making his last stand.

He swung the keyblade. It pushed the Heartless back, but didn't seem to actually hurt them. They stayed back, none of them venturing forwards, but all of them circling in, closing in on him, a suffocating wave of black with shining orbs of hunger floating in it. Their eyes, the eyes that never blinked, were coming closer.

-

"Sora!"

A blur of motion, topped with gray, burst through the mass. Gloved hands and a black winged blade threw the Heartless back until they had uncovered Sora. He looked up blearily at the gray haired man who stood guarding him.

"So…so cold…" whispered Sora, his blue eyes nearly shut.

"Sora, stay with me!" yelled the figure.

"Riku?" asked Sora, slowly rising to his feet.

"The one and only," replied Riku, flashing Sora a smile over his shoulder. He turned back and struck out at a few of the more venturous Heartless. "This is bad. We gotta run."

"I can…" huffed Sora, bringing the keyblade into ready with both hands, "still…fight…"

"No way," barked Riku over his shoulder, "you're too broken, and so is the keyblade. It's not working. We have to find out why, and to do that…"

He began summoning energy, and a ball of darkness, sucking in nearby Heartless, formed above his free hand.

"We have to get out of here first."

"What...?" asked Sora, swinging the keyblade feebly at the Heartless.

"A little trick I learned from Maleficent as her puppet," replied Riku grimly. "Now let's go!"

The ball of darkness burst into a portal. The two jumped through, and the Heartless swarmed in towards them.

-

"Sora! Riku!"

"Kairi!" shouted Sora, stumbling towards her.

"We've gotta move," said Riku, brushing past them towards the door.

"You didn't find anyone else?" asked Kairi softly.

"No."

Riku stood there, his back to them as they stared.

"Their hearts weren't strong enough before, and they aren't now either. People don't change with time. Being older just means you've had more time to make more mistakes."

He walked up to the door and put his hands on it. He swung it open, and was momentarily pushed back by the out rush of energy. Inside, he could see the white light fighting the black dark. And losing. The heart of their world was falling to the Heartless. Again.

"Let's go."

"You sure this will work?" asked Kairi, her face worried.

"I trust him."

She looked back at Sora.

"If we don't trust him, then we'll never make it out of here," he said, walking forwards to the open door. "If we don't trust each other, then we'll be separated. Again."

Kairi nodded, and walked forwards, grabbing both their hands.

"See you on the other side," she said, looking to each of them.

"Yeah," said Riku, looking into the door.

"The other side…" said Sora, also looking in.

Together, they stepped through the doorway, out of their world.

-

In his small shade of an existence, no power, no body, no will, a mere memory of himself, Ansem laughed. And thought to himself.

"How lazy are the ages…"

-

Children laughed. The sound of children at play is always a joyful thing. Provided you aren't close enough to actually make out what they're saying.

"I'll get you for that!"

"Sure, whatever, O-chee!"

"Grrrr…"

Orchid sat down on the ground, her blue eyes narrow, thoroughly ticked, and even madder because she knew she couldn't catch them. She irately blew at a strand of her blonde hair that had fallen in her face.

"Come back here and fight!" she yelled, standing up again, waving her wooden practice sword.

"I would, but Mom told me it's not nice to hurt little girls! Nyaa!"

"Just wait 'll I…"

She stopped when she felt the hand on her shoulder. She turned to see the smiling face of her best friend Eriks. She swung her sword at him, but he caught deftly with his left hand.

"Now, now," he said mildly, walking away to sit under a tree. "It's not like _I_ did anything."

Orchid followed and sat next to him. She sighed and leaned back against the tree.

"I know. It's just so, so frustrating sometimes. I know they just treat me like that because I'm a girl. Like they can't bear the thought that I could be an equal," fumed Orchid. "Not like you," she added.

"I just think better," said Eriks, running his fingers through his spiky black hair. "I'll only treat you how a 'girl' should be treated if you act like a 'girl', Orca"

"If you were anyone else, I'd clobber you for calling me that."

"That's why I call you that."

He smiled smugly at her as she scrunched up her face into a pout. Then he laughed.

"What?" said Orchid indignantly.

"You're so funny when you do that," answered Eriks. "And that's why they do it, you know. Tease you, that is."

He leaned forwards and brought his knees up to rest his elbows on.

"It's 'cause you're so honest and open. If you're happy, you smile. If you're sad, you frown. And if they tease you, you pout, or get all huffy."

"Just that? They give me hell every day because I don't shrug it off?"

"Sure. You shouldn't worry about it so much. We're still just kids."

He was right of course, she thought. They were both 14. They lived in the town of Arcadia, a peaceful place in a mellow valley, surrounded by far off mountains. She always wondered what was out there beyond the mountains, or beyond the stars. Who was out there.

As Eriks got up, she looked at him, for the first time in a while just thinking about what he looked like. Spiky black hair, a moderately animated face, black t-shirt, black vest, baggy tan pants, and brown tennis shoes. She looked to herself. Long, blonde hair that went halfway down her back and sometime visited her face with bangs that almost reached her eyes topping a highly animated and open face. This was above a short, blue, sleeveless, hooded sweatshirt, an equally short tank top under it, the snugly fitting sleeves of said sweatshirt covering from her wrists to partway up her upper arms, and well-worn fingerless gloves. The rest of her was an exposed midriff, baggy shorts, and large white and blue tennis shoes. Interesting how the simple one dressed up complex, while the complex one dressed so simple. Just another one of life's mysteries, she thought.

She got up also and followed him.

"So, Orca," said Eriks, "wanna see the cave I told you about?"

"The one with the door?" Orchid asked him. He nodded. "Sure."

-

"Damn," he swore under his breath. Sora was in Traverse town. He could think of worse places to end up. Places he was afraid Kairi and Riku might have ended up in.

The trip had been…violent. But too fast to register when it happened. All he knew was that at some point, Kairi lost her grip on them, and they weren't all together, as they had hoped. He had to find somebody he knew. Maybe Cid was still around.

At least he still had the keyblade. But he feared it might do him no good.

-

Urm: yeah. R R. (I pick up the lingo fast!) I won't have this second section again.

So: these are somewhat slow, but very detailed. It's how I write. Yeah. 20 pages and I'm still not even to guard armor. Yeah, in case you didn't know, this will follow the game a lot, but with many changes. The only major ones are going to be big background plot stuff, like the secrets of what's going on, and the antagonists. But on a world to world basis, it's gonna parallel a lot. Until later. Then I might think of some new Disney movies to use. Or make my own worlds. So read! I'll never say this again, since I don't think many people read random chapters and not the first. I feel like Kohta Hirano, the author of Hellsing, writing casual junk like this. At least I'm not jabbering like the weirds at fanimecon…


	2. Evening Arrival

To start: I don't own nuthin' but my own junk (Arc, Orchid, Eriks, Malias, maybe more)

* * *

-

Orchid opened her eyes to an evening in a dark, dank, back alley full of crates and rubbish. She shook her head to try and clear out the wool that seemed to fill her skull and block her thoughts. How did this happen?

Then she remembered. Eriks had brought them to the cave. There had been a strange door. And there was a voice. She couldn't remember all of what it had said. Something about worlds outside our own. About knowledge and power. That they knew so little. Eriks had walked forwards then. He had opened the door, then stood there, looking back at her with his piercing black eyes, hand extended to her, framed by the roiling… white? Or had it been black? She couldn't tell. It had been all colors and no colors beyond the door. All she knew for sure was that he had disappeared before she could grab his hand. And now she was here.

She got up and walked out of the alley. Outside of it was a town square sort of place, with people wandering all over. All sorts of people, wearing all sorts of things, walked by. In her amazement, she accidentally bumped into somebody.

"Sorry," she mumbled, and looked up into a pair of blue furred, lion-like faces with single horns sprouting from the forehead, looming several feet above her.

"Y-you're cats!" she exclaimed in surprise. Several people nearby started to move away. The people she had bumped into did not look pleased.

"Oh, this human cub has the nerve to call a Ronso a cat?" said one in a deep voice.

"What name is this girl-child that insults us so?" growled the other.

"Oh, there you are!"

All three turned to the voice. A small, white furry creature with a red sort of pompom ball on an antenna on its head walked towards them. It was about a foot high with little orange wings on its back, and wearing a green jacket, light brown pants and little brown shoes. Orchid thought it looked very cute.

"I told you not to wander off, kupo!" he said, as he got to them. The voice, though cute and fluffy-sounding, was definitely male.

"This girl-cub is with you, kupo-mog?" growled one of the Ronsos.

"Oh, yes, kupo! She's new in town, so you have to forgive her. She's never seen a Ronso before, nor has anyone told her about them, kupo," replied Orchid's little savior. He turned to her. "Now apologize to the Ronsos."

"Uh? Oh, um, sorry," she stuttered, nodding her head apologetically.

"Fine," rumbled the less angry Ronso. He turned away and added, "We were new here once, too."

The two blue hulks stalked proudly away. When they had gone, the little white creature turned to her.

"Remember, never call a Ronso a cat, kupo?" he warned.

"I will," said Orchid. "And thank you. Um…"

"What?" he asked, his antenna ball swaying from side to side.

"Where is this? Who are you? What are you?" she blurted.

"Kupo? Kupopopo? You've never seen a moogle?"

"No. Where I come from, the only things that talk are human."

"Oh dear, oh dear. It's like Marche all over again," muttered the moogle.

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind," he said. "My name is Montblanc. And this," he continued, sweeping his little arm out expansively, "is Traverse Town."

"How did I get here?" asked Orchid, feeling utterly lost.

"Now how can I know that if I don't even know your name?" asked Montblanc.

"Oh, sorry," said Orchid, flushing slightly. "My name is Orchid."

"Like a flower, kupo?"

"Hey, you're the one who's named a dessert!" she said defensively.

"Kupo?"

"Never mind."

-

The door jangled open and the two walked into the shop.

"Ho, Montblanc! Who's that with you?"

"Have a kupo day?" greeted Montblanc. "This is a friend. Her name's Orchid, and she's a little lost."

"Aren't we all?" joked the man behind the counter. He had messy brown hair that stuck up and back, a small pony tale at the base of his skull, a sparse mustache, a spiky beard at the end of his chin, and a very self-confident grin. He wore a sports jacket that hung loosely on him as he leaned against the wall.

"She's a little more lost than most, kupo," explained Montblanc.

"Whatever. She can stay here for a little while," replied the shopkeeper. He started rummaging under the counter. "Make yourselves at home."

They sat down on the couch opposite of the counter.

"You hungry?" he asked, popping back up. Montblanc shook his head, but Orchid's stomach decided it was time to speak up. They all paused as it voiced its complaints loudly throughout the room.

"I'll take that as a yes," laughed the man as he dove back under.

-

"Excuse me."

The man turned to face Sora, who was in a state of tatters, mentally, spiritually, and in a very, very real sense. Sora tried to stand tall and not look like some beggar, but he was very tired, and even more insecure. What was happening?

"Could you tell me," asked Sora, trying to smile warmly, and only barely succeeding, "if Cid still runs the Accessory Shop?"

"Huh?" replied the man. "Oh, that? I wouldn't know about _still_, since I only came here two years ago, but Cid has run that shop since I got here. Don't know about before."

"Thank you," said Sora gratefully, running off. So Cid was still there. At least someone he knew was still around. He hurried as he felt the keyblade tug him on urgently. It was as if it wanted him to go to the Accessory Shop, like something was drawing it there.

He went through a mental checklist of who he would know here as he ran down the familiar streets to the First District. Cid was in his shop. And Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie…no, they had gone home to Hollow Bastion. But if the Heartless were back, perhaps they had ended up here again also. Who else? Merlin and the Fairy Godmother were sure to be in their grotto. And that covered it for Traverse Town. He wondered about Donald and Goofy. Were they here, too?

He brought himself back into reality as he reached the door to the Accessory Shop. The same neon sign still blared above the door. At least some things never change. He opened the door and walked in.

"Cid! You in there? It's me, Sora!" he shouted, waiting for the gruff voice to greet him. Instead all he got was a thump from behind the counter and some muffled swearing. Sora looked around. There was a young girl with blonde hair in a blue sweatshirt sitting on the couch next to a well-dressed moogle, both of which were looking at him in surprise. Then the man behind the counter stood up, still rubbing his head.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Where's Cid?" asked Sora, confused. As far as he could tell, Cid didn't seem like the type to hire others to run his stuff.

"You're starin' at him," said the man, equally confused.

"What?" Sora said in surprise. Cid was a tough, block-jawed guy with spiky blonde hair behind goggles, not some hedgehog-haired, spike-bearded slacker in a jacket.

"My name's Cid. Cid Randell," replied the man, leaning back and assembling a large and sloppy sandwich. "Though I have to say, the name Sora doesn't ring any bells."

Sora couldn't take it. He had been running on pure adrenaline while escaping the Destiny Isles, and on ragged tatters of hope in Traverse Town. Now he had neither, and his body couldn't take it. He was tired and drained, and his mind finally hit the off switch. He collapsed on the floor in front of them.


	3. Wood Key, Stone Hand

Yeah: I don't own nuthin'. 'Cept my guys. Like Arc, who you meet now. If you hadn't noticed, I don't split into chapters according to how often I write. It's just for your convenience so you don't have to scroll through twenty pages to find your spot.

FFTA ROCKS! Oh yeah, un-hunh!

* * *

-

"Oh, I see," said Cid, smiling good-naturedly again. "The guy who owned the shop before me was called Cid too. Don't know what ever happened to him."

He was standing behind the counter, once more leaning back against the wall, and was polishing some of the jewelry. Montblanc had moved to stand in front of the fire warming himself, while Sora and Orchid both sat on opposite sides of the couch, drinking soup; Orchid's sandwich had disappeared long ago while Sora had given a background to what had happened before.

"So these things, the Heartless, they're taking over worlds?" asked Orchid.

"Not just taking over," said Sora grimly. "Devouring is more accurate."

Orchid looked at him while he stared into his soup, lost in thought. He looked about eighteen or so, and seemed to have gone through a lot. Despite this, she could tell that he was normally a very open and happy person. The sadness etched on his features seemed unnatural, and it made her sad too. From his wild and spiky brown hair, to his black, red, and yellow clothes, he looked like he had been through hell. After hearing his tale, it seemed close enough.

"That all happened four years ago," he continued. "Why they're back now is anyone's guess. Damn. I just wish I could find someone who was here the last time."

There was a silence that was only broken by the crackling of the fire.

"That sword," started Orchid. She wasn't sure why she asked. "Um, the keyblade. Could I see it? Is it with you?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah," said Sora distractedly, reaching beside the couch where he had left it. He held it in front of himself and said bitterly, "This is it, though it doesn't seem to hurt the Heartless anymore. I might as well have my toy sword again."

Orchid couldn't explain it. She seemed drawn towards the keyblade. It seemed to be calling to her, crying for release. As if a light was growing inside it, only waiting for her touch to free it from its metal shell. She held out her hand longingly, but Sora took no notice, still absorbed in pondering the blade and all that had happened. He did, on the other hand, notice what happened next.

"Wha?" he exclaimed.

The keyblade tugged itself away from him, trying to escape his grip, then faded away, much as it had when Riku had taken it from him. Simultaneously as it did, something new appeared in Orchid's outstretched hand. It had the basic shape of the keyblade, but metal it was not. It was now made of twisting brown branches, living wood. There were six near hand-length thorns sticking out of the semicircle hand guards, three on each side, and three even larger thorns had replaced the crown blade, each with two pairs of smaller thorns, and opposite of them on the other side of the shaft was two twisted thorns curved inwards in a thin crescent. It was the Kingdom Key no longer. It spoke its new name into Orchid's stunned mind.

"Bramblebite," she whispered into the echoing silence.

Sora only stared. Was it a new version? Not in the way he knew. There was no pendant key chain, though there was a loop to attach one to. What was this?

"I take it this has never happened before?" said Cid, his eyebrows raised.

-

"To find the key bearer…"

The figure stood on the roof, high above the Second District, outlined by the moon, the silhouette of his trench coat blowing in the breeze. He clenched his fist, and there was the sound of grinding stone.

"That's what he told us to do before they took him," he said.

"Quit worrying. It'll all work out, just like last time," said a second, more feminine and perkier voice as a silhouette body appeared from the shadows with it, ribbons flapping behind it.

"And if it doesn't?"

"…"

Both figures turned then and disappeared into the shadows again.

-

Orchid woke just in time to see Sora's shoe disappear as the door closed. The lights were off, but the fire was still burning. In its flickering light, she saw that Montblanc was curled up on the couch, fast asleep, and she assumed Cid was behind the counter. Quietly as she could, she slipped out of the shop, not even realizing that she was holding Bramblebite until she was already outside closing the door behind her. She walked to her left and turned the corner just to see Sora make a turn and run out of sight. She followed quickly. Soon, she found herself staring at the large doors to Second District. One was still slightly ajar, and she went in. Beyond was a large sunken plaza with a hotel to the left, and shops and houses to the right. Down in the plaza, a fountain gurgled peacefully on the near wall, while the Gizmo Shop loomed above the far wall. Walking down the right until she came to the stairs, she wondered about the silence. There was no sound, not even of night creatures or people in the buildings. Almost as if she had entered a dream. Or a nightmare.

As she walked down the stairs, she felt a sudden chill. Something was wrong. When she got to the bottom, she walked towards the middle of the plaza. Shadows stirred and raced across the ground. This scared her. But not as much as when they got up off the ground and took form.

The skittering Heartless began to form around her, their bodies never stopping, but their glowing eyes always on her. Their ant-like antenna twitched as they scurried around. Then they attacked.

"Yaah!" yelled Orchid, swinging the keyblade at one. The thorns pierced its inky blackness, and it burst into dark particles, only to come back in an implosion and be sucked into the blade, a shimmering wave of energy pulsing down the shaft. The blade was truly alive.

She fought them off, but as she struck down one, more would take its place. Despite her efforts, Orchid found herself being swept away from the stairs, until she found herself backed against the wall opposite the fountain. She fought her way to a nearby bench, Bramblebite pulsing with each Heartless it absorbed, and jumped onto it to gain the advantage of the high ground. She was thankful for having spent her days fighting with the boys in Arcadia instead of playing with the girls, but even with several years of rough housing, she knew she couldn't hold out much longer against the Heartless; there were just too many. Suddenly, she felt herself grabbed roughly by the back of her sweatshirt and pulled up and over the wall onto the walkway above.

"Now, what are you doing playing with the Heartless?" asked Cid. He was no longer a slacker, but a gallant knight, clad in shining armor with a blue cape, though his helmet was non present. He held in his free hand a giant, three foot long something that she could only assume was a sword of some type, though it seemed to be made of crystal, a soft rosy orange color, with lines and different parts going down the foot wide blade, which ended curiously in a circular shape. Chains jangled from where they started at the hilt to where they connected at another circular area where the hilt and blade met. The overall effect was of some otherworldly instrument of power.

"I was following Sora," said the stunned Orchid, still staring at the transformed Cid. He looked like a completely different person.

"Oh, that fool? He's over there," commented Cid, pointing a thumb behind him. Sora stood there, looking a little sheepish. "What I want to know is why he's out here. For someone who's all depressed that we aren't experienced in the Heartless area, he sure doesn't show much experience himself. Walking around at night, by himself, and unarmed too."

"I saw her…" Sora said vaguely.

"One of your friends?" asked Orchid.

"Besides," he continued, "I can still do magic," he said, casting Firaga on a Heartless that had found them to prove his point. "Why are you out here, Cid? And don't say 'To save you two'."

"I can't stand just letting these buggers run around free," answered Cid. "Guess there's still a bit of Judgemaster left in me."

"What?" both Sora and Orchid asked.

"Never mind, we got company!"

They fought through the Heartless, Sora using what magic he had, while Cid and Orchid both sliced any Heartless within reach. Eventually, they had fought their way down an alley and into the third district. As they cut across the square, more Heartless started forming; this time they were armored and marked with the crossed out heart.

"Soldiers!" shouted Sora. "These aren't as weak as the shadows!"

"You got that right!" shouted back Cid, as a soldier parried one of his blows. It leapt toward him before he could bring his sword around, only to explode and be sucked into Orchid's keyblade.

"Then we'll just have to fight harder!" yelled Orchid, smashing more of the Heartless. Sora paused to stare at the keyblade. It didn't just scatter the Heartless into nothing as it had with him. It absorbed them into itself. But for what purpose?

They found themselves backed against a door. When Orchid tried to open it, it refused to budge. She pushed harder as the other two fought back the Heartless.

"Why won't this open?" she screamed angrily.

"It's been like that for over a year!" shouted Cid, bashing away more Heartless. "Leave it alone and start fighting!"

"We can't win against them!" replied Orchid.

"You let it go into disrepair, again?" asked Sora. He turned back to them to show a smile. This is what he's really like, thought Orchid, stunned at the change.

"OPEN SEZAME!" he shouted, raising his hand skyward. A giant bolt of lightning flared down from the sky to ingrain itself in a nearby broken open pipe, jolting the cords within. Orchid pushed on the door once more, and it gave way. The three tumbled through, and Cid turned just in time to slam the door in the face of the approaching Heartless.

"Hah!" shouted Cid. "If I can't have my laws, then at least I can have freakin' thick doors! Hahaha!"

Sora smiled, then grinned widely, and then started laughing with him. Soon, all three were laughing heartily, the reason for laughing long forgotten.

"Stupid Heartless," laughed Sora. "They just don't get any smarter, huh?"

Suddenly Sora was swept off his feet by a large, dark hand. He skidded across the ground to come to a halt a few yards away. Before he could get up, a multitude of shadows piled onto him, completely obscuring him. In front of Cid and Orchid, a large body, huge, round, and very resilient, stood there with several of the regular soldiers. It scratched its head ponderously, as if trying to decide what to do next. The soldiers jangled erratically, while the shadows pulsed and skittered where Sora was.

Cid turned quickly to the shadows and raised his enormous judge sword.

"JUDGMENT!" he shouted. Columns of pure holy magic slammed down from above to obliterate the Heartless on Sora. They instantly disintegrated, their bodies melting to nothing in the pure white magic. The light faded, leaving an unconscious and ragged Sora, but one without any Heartless on him. Cid turned back to the large body, his sword ready.

"And as for y-" he started, but was interrupted as a clock with roman numerals formed in front of him, its hands spinning slower and slower until they stopped. He stood frozen in place, taken out of time. If Sora was still awake, he could have told Orchid he had been Stopped. But he wasn't. So Orchid just had to guess she was on her own.

She struck out at the large body, but the keyblade merely bounced off it. The Heartless merely looked curiously at her, then jolted forwards and knocked her off her feet with its huge potbelly. Orchid lay there dazed, and was just about to get up when she saw the five soldiers all leaping at her.

"Aero!"

There was a small explosion of wind, knocking the Heartless soldiers away from her and into a mess on the ground.

"Blizzard!"

A swirl of cold air, and then the pile of Heartless lay there covered in a thick frost.

"Thunder!"

A bolt of lightning dropped down on the frozen soldiers, causing them to shatter and disintegrate into little dark particles. Orchid turned to see Montblanc standing a the top of the stairs in front of the Accessory Shop, waving a rod with a crescent moon on the end. He started walking down the stairs towards her, waving his rod as she got up.

"Cure," he said, more softly than the last spells. Sparkling light drifted gently down onto Orchid, and she instantly started feeling better. She turned to face the remaining Heartless, which was currently scratching its large girth and looking at them curiously.

"Quicken," said Montblanc, pointing at Cid.

"-ou, I'm gonna…where'd they go?" he said, then turned around to face them.

"So what should we do about this one?" asked Orchid.

"THIS!" came the voice. A figure slammed down on top of the large body, and it instantly burst into inky pieces. The man stood up and turned to them, his white trench coat still flapping from the wind of his descent. His fist clenched, and there was a sound of grinding stone.

"So, this is the key bearer?" he said.


	4. Sunshine Incarnate, Ninja, and Karate

And: Um yeah. Sorry it's short. But the next break was in 4 pages. And I still don't own nuthin'. And boy, have I seen some weird spellings of paopu. I think I'm right. I could check, but nyooooo….

* * *

-

"I can't believe you tricked me like that!"

Eriks was in a real upset, and refused to forget it. No matter how many times she scampered from one side of him to the other, Orchid couldn't get him to face her. Apologizing hadn't worked, so she decided to take the offense.

"Geez, you sure are getting worked up for someone who doesn't even believe in it," she said indignantly.

He finally turned to face her looking unusually flustered. "Intertwined destiny or not, the other kids could say all sorts of things!"

"What kind of things?" asked Orchid, her eyes wide with innocent curiosity.

"Things…" muttered Eriks. "Besides, it's not nice to trick people, especially your alleged 'best friend',"

"I didn't trick you," defended Orchid, taking her turn to look away. "'s not like it's my fault you eat whatever's handed to you without thinking."

"It's not my fault I was hungry!"

"And it's not my fault I handed you half a paopu fruit."

"Yes it is!"

"Well anyways," said Orchid, sitting down next to him, hugging her knees and looking to the distance, "it's not like it's a bad thing. It means that we'll always be best friends, right? That if we get separated, we'll always find each other, right?"

"You're such a kid," said Eriks. Orchid turned quickly at the reproach, then relaxed at his smile. "But yeah, that's the idea in a nutshell."

He stood up and picked up his wooden practice sword.

"Doesn't change the fact that I think it's a load of bull. Now come on! We still got another hour or two of light to practice in!"

Orchid smiled and nodded happily, then grabbed her sword and got up.

-

Orchid lay in bed, not opening her eyes, but still aware of the bright light beyond them. She felt sore all over. Eriks had really bashed her up good. Though she had given him a few to remember…

She mentally shook herself. What was she thinking? That had been five or six years ago. And now… who had bashed her? Oh, yeah… the guy with the big hand. Why hadn't Cid or Montblanc helped her? Maybe he was a notorious thug, and they had been scared. Maybe he had got them before, and they didn't want to die. Maybe _she_ was dead. Acting on this, she shifted around, only to be met with weak, cushy resistance. Like what she imagined a cloud to feel like. She opened her eyes, expecting to see open sky, shining lights and angels.

"Heyas! She's awake!"

Orchid immediately shut her eyes again. The giant smiling face of eternal sunshine on speed had been too much. She waited with her eyes shut, hoping it would go away.

"Wonder how she feels."

"Did Arc ever beat on you?"

"Nup."

"Then you wouldn't know. I pissed him off once when I stole his money when we first met. I never stole from him again, and not just because we became friends. And that was only a light scuffle. I really feel for this girl. That last punch looked like it hurt."

Upon reflection on this, Orchid was surprised she didn't feel worse.

"Yeah, I guess it did."

There was a pause, and then the voice continued.

"get up get up Get Up Get Up GET UP GET UP GETUPGETUP**GETUP**!"

That settled it. She wasn't in Heaven. No angel sounded like that. Of course, it could be Hell.

"Maybe she died. Awww."

"Not after my master treatment she would. She's still alive."

So she wasn't dead. She opened her eyes again, and this time the face of energy itself was far enough away to reveal another person who almost blended in with the green room. This was because she was mostly clad in green. She also had black hair with a forehead protector on, a giant shuriken on her back, and was smiling proudly. The other, despite looking a little older, was a lot more childish acting, and seemed to smile for the sake of smiling and possibly convincing others to try. She had blonde hair, goggles on her forehead, some sort of forearm mounted weapon and was wearing a mostly tan brownish colored top with two blue and white ribbons attached, and some of the skimpiest jean shorts Orchid had ever seen. She thought 'some of' because she wasn't sure were the other one or two inches of it were, as they weren't on this girl.

"So how you feeling?" asked the one in green.

"Okay, I guess…" mumbled Orchid, sitting up.

"Hah! I told you, Rikku! There's nothing that can't be done by the Great Ninja Yuffie!" exclaimed the one in green.

"So what's your name?" asked the other. She hadn't been listening to the one in green. "I'm Rikku and this is Yuffie."

"Weren't you listening?" said Yuffie, cuffing Rikku lightly before Orchid could even answer. "Her name's Orchid. Montablanc already told us that."

"Where is he?" interrupted Orchid.

"Oh, he's in the next room with Arc," said Yuffie, walking towards a door. Orchid quickly got up and followed Rikku and Yuffie through into a room of red. Inside, in the sea of crimson, sat two people. One was Montblanc; the other was the man with the big hand. The big stone hand. The big, hard stone hand. The big, hard stone hand that really hurt to be hit with. She could have gone on into further detail, but that train of thought was derailed suddenly.

"Orchid! You're okay, kupo!" exclaimed Montblanc, jumping off his chair to scurry over to her, his antenna ball bouncing frantically.

"As he finishes conversing with my assaulter," said Orchid sarcastically.

"Oh, Arky!" said Rikku cheerfully, poking at the man's hunched over form. He was wearing a knee length white trench coat, and loose tan pants. As he straightened up, he revealed a black shirt, yellow tinted sunglasses that sat just below his eyes, and shoulder length dirty blonde hair that was all combed straight back and down, except for one lock which hung loosely to one side of his handsome face. His eyes were deep blue, and he stared hard at Orchid. His right fist, which was huge and made of some sort of stone with four raised knuckles at the tops of the big, thick fingers and took up almost his whole forearm ending in a large ring covered partially by his sleeve, clenched momentarily, and there was the sound of grinding stone. He got up and brushed his left hand back through his hair, though the loose lock merely fell back into place by his eyes.

"Name's Arc," he said, still staring at Orchid. She held his gaze, not backing down. He pushed up his shades with his left hand and stared at her through tinted eyes, the lenses painted opaque by the reflection of light. "I believe this is yours, little bud."

He held out Bramblebite between his right thumb and two fingers, the blade pointing horizontally between him and Orchid, making her suddenly aware it that it wasn't in her grip. She held out her right hand, much as she had with Sora, but this time more commanding. The blade shimmered in Arc's mighty hand, then faded out to reappear in Orchid's grip.

"So you really are the Keyblade Master," said Arc, letting his yellow shades slide down again. He sat back down, just as another man came in, followed by Sora and Cid, who was now wearing a combination of his normal clothes and various armored pads, gauntlets and a breast plate, his judge sword hanging from his side; both Sora and Cid were looking much better. The new comer was someone around Sora's age or a little older, in his late teens, with medium length blonde hair that all went back to a point, except for a few tufts at the front above his forehead which shot straight up. He had an intricate black tattoo on the left side of his face which ran from forehead to the level of his mouth and also branched off under his crystal blue eyes, and wore a black T-shirt, a red vest, baggy blue shorts, tennis shoes, and some padded and armored fighting gloves.

"'Sup, all?" he said, waving at them. Rikku and Yuffie enthusiastically returned the waves, while Arc just nodded in his direction. Montblanc turned to face the newcomers, while Orchid just stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Yuffie!" exclaimed Sora, jumping over one of the sofas to greet her. She turned away from him, her arms crossed.

"Hmph," was all Sora got.

"What's with her?" asked Sora, talking to Rikku and scratching his head.

"She says you're now categorized under 'handsome' and no longer can be considered 'cute'," replied Rikku. "Or something like that."

"Really? I'm handsome?"

"I don't know about that, but you certainly aren't the cute little boy she described to me."

Sora looked around the room as everyone got settled.

"Where's Leon and Aerith?" he asked Yuffie.

She didn't respond.

"Squall was taken," said Arc quietly.


	5. Growing Up

Veiw: My Wonderful Backgrounding! Yeah. Still don't have rights to all the square/Disney stuff. Mmmm… But time for the chew out I started the story idea around…

* * *

"Taken?" asked Sora in surprise.

"Apparently, the Heartless remembered Squall, and he was one of the ones they concentrated on trying to get," explained Arc. "All he said to us as we fled Hollow Bastion was 'find the Key Bearer'. So we ran. We think Cloud and Aerith escaped too, but we haven't seen them since."

"Wait a second," said Sora. "So it started in Hollow Bastion again?"

"No," said Yuffie. "Though Hollow Bastion was one of the first worlds to fall. We don't know where the Heartless came from this time. I think that Arc is right, and they wanted to eliminate Squall and the rest of us first. Similar to how the Destiny Islands were taken I assume?"

Sora gave no answer. None was needed.

"Wow, such gloomy group…" said Rikku.

"She's right, you know," said the man with the tattoo, smiling. "If we doom and gloom ourselves like this, the Heartless won't even have to do anything."

No one spoke. Then there was a chuckle. Arc was smiling.

"Yeah, let's not dwell on it for now," he said. "I think introductions are in order. The man here with the doodle on his face is Zell Dincht. My name is Arc. The girl who can't stay still is Rikku, and I think you all know Yuffie. And of course, I trust we all know our new Key Bearer, Orchid?" he finished, flourishing his left towards her.

"Yo," said Zell, waving at her.

"So, are you the leader of all these?" Orchid asked Arc.

"Huh? Oh no, course not. Zell could probably kick my butt around the town," said Arc, smiling ruefully. "If you need to think of someone as the head of our outpost, then look to Cid. He was the Judgemaster after all."

"Um, what is that anyways?" asked Sora.

"What I want to know," interrupted Orchid, "is 'Why me'?"

"Because the Keyblade chose you, that's why," said Arc indifferently.

"I don't want to fight for the universe, I never asked to carry the fate of us all, I didn't even want to leave Arcadia!" shouted Orchid. "So why me?"

"There isn't any reason, nothing that substantial," answered Arc, hints of annoyance touching his voice. He pushed up his shades again. "It's just what happens, so deal with it."

"I just want to go home, why should I have to save someone else's?"

Arc stood up suddenly, and the lights seemed to dim, but his shades, which hid his eyes, glowed menacingly.

"You brat. Do you really think you can just go home and it will all be fine and dandy? Is that it? Well guess what," he said, his voice heavy with menace. "You have to fight the Heartless. If you don't, they're just going to keep drowning worlds in darkness, and nothing's going to stop them short of the keyblades and their champions. And they'll get to your home, your little Arcadia, eventually. It may not be tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, heck, it might not even be in the next month, but they'll find it. As long as your world's little heart beats, the Heartless will hunger for it. And while you hide away, trying to pretend it's all right, lying to yourself, more and more people will be absorbed into the darkness. All because you didn't feel like doing what you've been assigned!"

"She's just a kid, Arc," defended Yuffie. Everyone else was in stunned silence.

"Exactly! And in times like these, kids need to grow up! The only difference the Heartless make between kids and adults is that kids are weaker! So tough up, or we're all in trouble, got that? I don't care if you didn't want this! Do you think any of us asked for this? Huh? Well do you?" he yelled.

No one spoke. The silence was only broken by Arc's heavy breathing as the light returned to normal.

"Well do you?" he said quietly, sitting down and hunching over.

Orchid turned and ran out the door.

"Orchid!" squeaked Montblanc.

"Let her go," said Cid softly. "She'll have to sort things out for herself."

"He's right," added Sora. He glowered at Arc. "I don't like it, but he's right."

-

Whole worlds away, Riku screamed. The pain never ended. Not just physical pain, but mental anguish, guilt racking his soul, stabbing into his mind like a million jagged shards of glass. He had failed. He was separated again. Though he always acted tough, without his friends for support, to give him purpose, something to fight for, he knew he was weak. As much as he fought it, it pained him so. Memories of his betraying Sora for the darkness still haunted him; old wounds were ripped anew.

A voice in his head whispered to him, _Give in._

In his own private dimension, Riku screamed.

-

Only a paper's thickness from Riku, yet also a galaxy away, Squall, who once more considered himself Leon in light of the loss of his home, was lost in his own little reality. There was nothing. No light. No dark. No heat. No cold. No sound, nor silence. No space, yet he could walk forever without finding an end. No time, not that it mattered. He felt he could wander forever, and still not have done anything.

The same voice whispered to him. It told him how he could escape. _Give in._

Leon tried to ignore it. But it's so hard to ignore something when it's the only thing that exists.

-

Orchid was crying. Too many things had built up, and now the dam had burst. She was lost, alone, had no way home, and had to save the universe. On top of that, no one cared. On top of the roof of the hotel, alone with the Keyblade, Orchid cried.

-

"I wonder if she's okay," sighed Yuffie. She had been looking out the window, and was getting nervous. It had been almost a half hour since Orchid had run out of the room.

"I don't know," said Rikku. She stared daggers at Arc's back. "I wouldn't be if I got chewed out by some big, stupid, brick-handed meanie."

Arc didn't react.

"Especially if I had just gotten taken from home, thrown somewhere faraway," she continued, getting louder and getting closer to Arc with each word, "forced to fight monsters, told the universe depended upon me and BEATEN UP BY SAID MEANIE!"

At this point, Rikku was actually beating on Arc's back with her fists. He turned and brushed her arms away with his giant stone right hand, then got up to lean against a wall. Rikku scrunched her face in a pout, then stalked off to complain to Zell and Sora. Montblanc was reading in a chair, trying to look calm, but betrayed by the fact that he looked anxiously to the door every few seconds with his antenna pompom twitching like mad.

Cid sauntered over to Arc, then leaned back against the wall next to him.

"You know, even if you were right, it doesn't mean you had to tell her like that."

"…"

"She looked like she could use some comforting when she left."

"…"

"Of course, that would take a little maturity."

"…"

"You should fix what you broke."

"…"

They both stood there in silence for several minutes. Finally, Arc got up and left through the door.

-

Orchid had been thinking. Arc was right. As much as she hated it, he was right. She was being selfish. The keyblade had chosen her and that was that.

She sniffled, then wiped her eyes on her sleeves. Eriks would probably be making fun of her if he could see her now. She laughed weakly at that. Then she smiled.

"I guess," she started, "I'll just have to deal with it."

Just then she felt someone touch her right shoulder. She turned, irrationally half expecting Eriks to be there.

"Hey," said Arc softly. He sat down next to her and just sat there, staring out across the town, not saying anything. Orchid felt a little resentment that he, of all people, would disturb her, but tried to forget it by staring out with him at all the little lights and houses.

"It's peaceful up here," he said. Orchid turned, but he was still staring out. "Just looking at the town from so far up. In reality, I know it's a lively town. But when you step back…"

They sat there in silence, both just staring out across the town. Orchid found it relaxing, and she could almost hear herself unwinding.

"You just gotta step back sometimes, or you'll snap," said Arc. This time Orchid turned to see him smiling at her. She smiled back. "Feeling better, little bud?"

She nodded.

"Sorry for yelling at you."

"I shouldn't have been so childish."

"You shouldn't worry about it so much. You're still just a kid."

And for that moment, just for an instant, he seemed like Eriks.

Then it passed, and the first rays of the sun reached out and touched their faces.

"The sun's coming up," said Arc, getting up and offering a hand to her, his white trench coat flapping slightly in the morning breeze. She took the proffered hand and smiled at him.

"And today is a new day," she replied.


	6. Off to See the Wizard

Know what:(?) Black orchid is a name from somewhere else. But it's so cool! Sorry if anyone cares. I still don't own the KH stuff. Oh: background on this story. Started with wanting to do a KH fanfic. First solid idea included reluctant hero and the chew out from last chapter. Then it was Easter, and I saw a picture of a crown of thorns. It was too cool, and I thought: Bramblebite. From there, the whole flower thing evolved, my guy was replaced with Orchid, so on and so forth until we got this. Wondering. Can't wait for Wonderland. It's more Lewis Caroll land when I take the story there. Ooh-hoo…

* * *

-

It was almost noon. They were all sitting around a table, mostly talking or trying to recover from the enormous late brunch they had just finished.

"So you're going to take her to see the wizard, huh?" Cid said to Arc. He was currently trying to pick out all the crumbs from his spiky beard and only having moderate success.

"You mean Merlin?" asked Sora, turning from his conversation with Yuffie.

"No, the other funny old man in a blue hat that lives in the grotto," said Arc sarcastically.

"You mean there's two of 'em?" asked Zell, who was still eating anything left on the table. Everyone stared at him in silence, then shook their heads and sighed.

"So who's going? You know he doesn't like crowds," warned Cid.

"Well, there's me," started Arc.

"Pick me! Pick me!" shouted Rikku, waving her hand in the air enthusiastically.

"And we have to bring Orchid of course."

"Oooh! Oooh! Memememe!"

"And Montblanc met her first."

"And me! Pick me!"

"And that's it."

"Meanie."

"What should the rest of us do?" asked Sora.

"I don't know. Go sightseeing. Talk. Read. Pick your nose. Whatever," replied Arc, pushing his yellow shades up and slouching down in his chair. He stayed there and didn't move.

"Shouldn't we be going?" asked Orchid.

"I was afraid someone would say that," grumbled Arc, still slouched down in his chair. "Montblanc, don't you have a sleep spell? Or silence? I want to rest and she won't let me be."

"Nope. I'm only a black mage, kupo."

"Hey!" said Orchid, poking his shoulder from where she sat next to him. "Aren't you the one who was saying that we need to act now against the Heartless? Huh? Huh?"

"She's got you there," said Yuffie, smiling slyly.

"I was up all night. Let me sleep," mumbled Arc.

"I was up all night too!" said Orchid, poking harder.

"Yeah… Maybe… Shut up."

He still didn't move. Orchid eventually gave up poking him and sat in her chair pouting, while Yuffie and Rikku giggled madly. Arc suddenly got up, pushing Orchid and Zell's chairs back, much to Zell and the carpet's dismay as Zell's plate of food fell from his hands. He then reached down with his stone right hand, grabbed both of Orchid's legs, then swung her up and over his shoulder to hang upside down on his back. He then stomped out of the room with the protesting Orchid in tow like a burlap sack, who was dividing her hands between pounding him and keeping her sweatshirt and tank top from falling down.

"Let go of me! ARRR! Put me down, you stupid brick fisted meanie! NOW!"

By now, Rikku and Yuffie were clutching their sides, howling with laughter, and even Sora and Cid were fighting to conceal their smiles. Zell was still mourning the loss of his plate of food.

"Oh well, kupo," sighed Montblanc, picking up his rod and Bramblebite, following after them.

"Wait!" said Sora, reaching into his pocket. The moogle turned back to face him. Sora dug around, but couldn't find them. All of his key chains for the keyblade were gone. "Uh, never mind."

-

"So how come the door won't open?"

Orchid wasn't very happy about all the doors around Traverse Town that didn't work. The three of them were standing in front of a wood door in the Third District with arcane symbols and a highly stylized flame on it.

"Would you do the honors, Montblanc?" asked Arc.

"Sure thing, kupo!" said the moogle. "Fire!"

A small fireball shot from his rod to strike the flame on the door.

"Now try it," said Arc.

Orchid pushed the door and it opened easily. Inside was a large open cavern, taken up almost entirely by a miniature lake. In the middle was a strange looking cottage on an island, with large stepping-stones leading to it. When they approached them, they began to move, much to the three's dismay.

"As if the door doesn't discourage visitors enough," said Orchid sarcastically.

"Come on!" shouted Arc, jumping and landing roughly on the first one, using his right hand to steady himself. He quickly leaped to the next one, then the next.

"Fine!" yelled Orchid. She jumped to the first stone, and was surprised by its slipperiness from all the algae that had grown over it and almost fell off. Waving her arms, she regained her balance and jumped to the next one. She looked to the moogle and his short little legs. "Montblanc, how are you going to get across?"

In response, Montblanc drifted up on his cute little wings and fluttered past both her and Arc to land on the far shore. Seeing they'd been beaten, both redoubled their efforts to get across. Soon they were standing in front of the house, which seemed to be in a state of disrepair. There was a ragged banner above the doorway, which was boarded shut. Arc knocked on them, but they didn't seem to want to go anywhere. Montblanc drifted around the side, out of sight. Almost immediately, they heard a kupo, and they walked around to see what he had found.

What he had found was a large hole in the stone wall of the circular cottage, which was covered by a moth eaten old rag. They brushed it aside and went in. Inside it was empty, and Orchid marveled at how it seemed bigger inside than out. She ran in and out the door several times. It didn't just seem bigger inside than out. It _was_ bigger inside than out. Suddenly they heard the grumbling of an old man and one waddled inside, carrying a large brown bag. He was wearing a blue robe and a pointy blue cap, had a white mustache and beard that almost touched the floor, spectacles and large bushy white eyebrows that almost gave him a sort of owlish appearance.

"Hello, hello, yes, nice to do, Arc, you too, Orchid, would you like a chestnut, Montblanc? Oh, you already have one, sorry bad joke, just a second now," was all blurted out in a single breath while they stood there stunned as the old man walked up the stairs to the raised circular platform in the middle of the room and opened his bag. He began waving a wand around, and little toy furniture popped out of the bag, to spiral around the room. The three soon noticed, though, that the furniture was growing larger and life size, and it was hazardous to stand in their way to their seemingly accustomed places around the room. Orchid rolled out of the way of a particularly brutish bookshelf, while Arc tried not to be trampled by a chest of drawers and Montblanc had an aerial performance of death defying dodges with an airborne tea set.

Eventually, everything settled down, though Arc was sporting a goodly-sized lump on his head from an angry grimoire, and Orchid had never before been rammed by a chair. Montblanc was flying around trying to decide where to sit at the table on the raised platform while eyeing the teacups suspiciously, which eyed him back with equal suspicion. They all got settled in while the teapot went around serving tea.

"So, old man," said Arc, warding the teapot from his cup with one huge stone finger, "Do you know what's going on?"

"Well," started the wizard, "I'm being questioned by a rather rude guest while we sit down for tea in my house, for starters."

"Ah," said Arc sarcastically, having a harder time warding off the sugar bowl, which insisted on serving him, "witness the great powers of wizardry."

"What?" asked Orchid, confused.

"Didn't you hear him?" said Arc, the sarcasm practically dripping from his voice as he pushed the sugar bowl over, causing it to lose its cover and some sugar. It shook its spoon at him like an angry beggar, then picked up its cover and moved to Montblanc, who let it do its job, saying a soft 'when' after two scoops. "He told us exactly what's going on."

"If you would like a more helpfully mystical and deep answer, you should try using my name," said the wizard. "Not 'old man'. Kids these days."

"Bitter," was all Orchid said, as she tasted the tea. She had never had tea before, and let the sugar bowl happily fill almost half her cup with its contents before she said 'when'. She stirred her tea, then drank it with much more satisfying results as the bowl hopped over to the wizard's cup.

"Fine, _Merlin_," said Arc, his voice now frosted with candy-coated politeness. "Can you tell us why the Heartless are back and kindly divulge any helpful information?"

"A nice effort, but it sounded very forced," said Merlin, staring levelly at Arc.

"Um, kupo, could you please tell us many helpful things?" said Montblanc in his naturally polite voice.

"Well, now, at least one set of sentient beings isn't going down the tubes with everyone else," said Merlin, still staring at Arc, failing to notice that his teacup was nearing full of sugar. "I cannot tell you why the Heartless are back. I assume that some one called them again. Or they manipulated him or her into calling them. Either way, the door is open and here they are."

"Anything that could help us?" asked Orchid coyly, trying to flex the girly charms she knew she didn't have. It worked anyways, though she suspected that it was because Merlin was using Arc as a point of comparison on the politeness scale.

"Well, I can tell you that things tend to follow a similar path. I have a feeling you three will be together for this. The Key Bearer, the Defender, and the Mage. Sword, Shield, and Staff. But I can tell, you're wondering about the keyblade. After all that Sora said, I expect it's a shock for all that the keyblade is now a living plant. Yes, it's still the same keyblade, the Keyblade of World. Only now, it's of the World's Life, not the World's Heart, though it too can lock the doors."

"I noticed it absorbed the Heartless, instead of scattering them, as they were struck down. How come?" asked Arc.

"I think that now, instead of destroying them, the Keyblade is trying to absorb them to convert them into basic energy, to purify them in a sense. To what end, I do not know."

"So where is the King's Envoy?" continued Arc. "Why aren't they here looking for the Key Bearer too, ol- er, Merlin."

"So it's as I feared. The Heartless, knowing they can't devour the Kingdom, have blocked them off instead. The fact that they can block off everything from the Kingdom shows a minimum for their strength, and that is not a good thing. I fear the worst. Their power must be enormous."

"Or they're weakened by diverting so much to taking out key worlds," said Arc.

"And we are even more so weakened by the loss of these worlds."

They sat there in silence, until Merlin suddenly noticed his teacup with a shocked cry. The sugar bowl was still piling on sugar, despite the fact that the cup was now completely obscured by its mountain of white.

"Stop! Stop, Stop, Stop, Stop it!" he shouted. The sugar bowl continued on merrily, not heeding its master.

"You! Stop, er, What! I mean When! When when when!" he yelled at it. The sugar bowl stopped at the magic words, and hopped happily back into place with the rest of the tea set. "Oh, don't you act all innocent. You know very well what I mean when I say 'stop', you stubborn thing. You're even worse than children," Merlin ranted, brushing off the sugar with his beard. "Biscuit, anyone?"


	7. Fire and a Devil's Deal

Nyan: shorty. Almost to the fight. Nnnnn! Like waiting for constipation relief! Almost done with background. Then, to Caroll-land! Callooh! Callay! Still don't own KH rights. Hmm. Arc reminds me of hellboy. Must be the hand. Too bad I can't show you all my pictures of them. Puchin! Puchin! Bye-baikin! (if you know that last frase, ur really weird. Or live in japan. I'm really weird.)

* * *

-

_Give in._

"Can you help me find my home?"

_Yes. Give in._

"Can you help me find my friend?"

_The Flower of Arcadia?_

That was a strange thing to call Orchid.

"Uh, yes. Can you bring me too her?"

_We, too, search for her. Give in._

"Then I will."

I'm coming Orchid.

And with that, Eriks walked into the darkness.

-

"What did Merlin say to you?" asked Orchid.

"Nothing," replied Montblanc, a little too quickly. "Anyways, we should begin your education."

"What education?" asked Orchid curiously.

"Your education in magic," explained Montblanc, flourishing his rod grandly. "You don't think that Sora defeated the Heartless with brute force alone?"

"You mean you can't defeat everything that way?" asked Arc, clenching his fist. There was the now familiar sound of grinding stone.

"Of course not," said Montblanc, putting his rod under his arm, and cupping both hands in front of his chest. A small, glowing red ball formed between them. "Now, hold out you hands, like this."

Orchid obediently cupped her hands similar to Montblanc's. He dropped the ball of energy into her hand.

"It's warm…" she said distantly. "What is it?"

"It's a portion of my magic," he replied. "Now pull it into you."

"Uh, ho?" started Orchid, but before she knew it, she had pulled her hands to her chest and pushed the ball of magic into herself. Suddenly, she crumpled over and cried out. "It burns! Ahh!"

"I was afraid of this," said Montblanc, shaking his head, his antenna ball drooping slightly.

"What'd you do to her?" demanded Arc.

"I gave her the fire spell directly. I thought she could handle it, but…"

Orchid was now on her knees, bent double and clutching her chest, her forehead touching the flagstones outside the wizard's door. Panting heavily, she struggled with what was inside her. Then she got up, slowly.

"Whew," sighed Montblanc. "I knew she could deal with it."

"And if she couldn't?" asked Arc.

"Y-yeah…" moaned Orchid. "What if?"

"She'd probably have burned up and burst into flames," he said, his back to them.

"WHAT?" shouted Arc and Orchid together.

"Y-you mean th-that you gave me something that d-dangerous?" demanded Orchid, while Arc frantically waved one arm and pointed with the other.

"Don't worry, kupo," he said, turning back. "I could have pulled it back out any time. That would only happen if I left it in her for maybe an hour or two."

"So…what did you do to me? I mean, why?" asked Orchid, still not happy at being manipulated like that.

"Because you needed to start learning the spells, kupo. There will be some enemies that will not fall to physical force."

"But why like this?" shouted Orchid. "I don't recall Sora getting it like this!"

"That's because he received it as a gift when he was already receptive to it, kupo. You seem to be shut out from magic. Your abilities for it are there, but it seemed that that flower hasn't bloomed quite yet, kupo, as if it needed more time."

"And we don't have that time, do we?" said Arc.

"No," sighed Montblanc. "So I had to force it, kupo."

"Will every spell I learn be this painful?" said Orchid in worried tones.

"I don't think so, kupo. Now that you've opened the door, it should come more naturally," finished Montblanc.

"Well, that's a relief," sighed Orchid.

"Now try it," commanded Arc. "Unlock the wizard's door!"

Orchid stood there, not taking any action.

"Um…how?"

"Call the spell to mind," explained Montblanc. "In this case, it's fire, so imagine a fireball, kupo."

Orchid did as she was told, and felt a warmth start to build in her chest.

"Oh, and you'll want to focus it into your hand, kupopo."

She changed her thinking, and the warmth slid down her arm to the hand not holding Bramblebite. She opened her eyes to see a small fireball growing there.

"Now fire it at the door, you merely need think it!"

"Fire!" she said as she released the spell, and the fireball shot and hit the door's stylized flame, causing it to open. She gave out a little squeak of delight, something unusually feminine for her. "I did it! I really did it! I did magic!"

"Kupo job! You're going to want to practice that later so that you can do it immediately and not have to stop like that, kupo."

"Now let's go," said Arc impatiently, once more pushing his yellow shades up. He walked out of the alley they were in and entered the well-lit main square of the Third District.

-

"You have rested well, I trust?"

Eriks stood in his new clothes before the man. He shifted uncomfortably in the black leather jacket, slightly unnerved by all that had been happening.

"Um, yeah," he replied. He walked forwards, jangling slightly from the various straps, belts, and catches on his pants, also black.

The man had his back to him, revealing only luxurious, long black hair, and spindly, spider-like limbs wrapped in a grim black suit, its four coattails giving it an archaic feel. "Well, I hope it is so, for you have a long way before you."

The man turned to face Eriks. The right half of his face was covered by a half mask, plain white; its only markings were an upward curve for the eye, and half a downward curve to make an impression of a smile. The left half of his face contained only a small closed half of a frown, half a slender nose, and an eye with a scar running over it from cheek to forehead. The eye stared at Eriks, and he suddenly found himself almost lost in the inky depths of it. Then he blinked, and the contact was lost. The man turned away from him again, his long black hair flowing gracefully with the movement. Intricate shadows formed in front of him as he crossed his skeletal arms.

"I am called Elias Daemonwing," he said emotionlessly. "You seek the Flower of Arcadia, too?"

"Uh," stuttered Eriks, caught off guard by the bluntness of it, "um, yes."

"I see," said the figure. "And would you do anything to find it?"

"Of course!" said Eriks, surprising himself with how automatic the answer was.

"Then you shall be of use," continued Elias. "Your apprenticeship starts now. You will serve, through me, under the Master. You may call me 'my lord' or 'Master Elias'. If you have any qualms or doubts, now is the time to turn away. If not, then we shall begin."

"Yes," said Eriks, one thought on his mind.

I'm coming Orchid.


	8. Metal Monstrosity

Nekokoneko: nyan!

Anyways: Ah, thank you, HisLight for your reviews. Makes me all warm inside. And for the general public, I have a few things. First, it's the end of traverse town, on to wonderland! Yay! Guard Armor… Also, if you haven't noticed, my story's more FF less Disney. Like how Montblanc uses water and how Aero is back to being an attack spell. Also, I've changed what happens in most all worlds, or replaced them with entirely new worlds (did you know that whale rhymes with jail?). A fight with the bandersnatch is imminent. Yeah, I finally got the skeleton of the story planned out, and some of the really key scenes too. Like how Eriks goes and removed forcibly. Doesn't that sound cool? Yeah, poor Sora (referring to this chapter). Also, there was the point of the heartless being stronger in my story: it's cuz I'm going for quality over quantity in battles. As well as hundreds of random battles work in games, you can't write descriptively about it, or the story would be 50 pages battle for every 1 page story. Also, the next chapter involves the poem Jabberwocky, by Lewis Carroll, the original author of Alice in Wonderland. If you are not familiar with the poem, I suggest looking up on google the word Jabberwocky, then going to the first site and reading it. It's a great poem and the next section's all about it and Wonderland.

Last of all: Hints, since I can't contain myself: Seifer, Clockwork Grape, Devil's Rose, Materite Gear, Stairway to Heaven. Who is the Master?

And now, RR, then it's off to the tulgey wood! (PS: this is an update, I just caught a mistake embarrassed)(actually, this is another edit, as I proceed to re-edit chapters 1-50)

* * *

-

In the dark of the approaching evening, the silence was unnerving. Orchid, Arc and Montblanc walked into the middle of the Third District Square, wary of anything.

The stonework floor at the exits suddenly broke apart and slammed upwards into imprisoning walls. Orchid brought out the Bramblebite, and could feel it pulsing; there were Heartless afoot. Suddenly, pooling shadows and dark portals turned into Heartless, dark and staring. Shadows scurried about as soldiers jangled eerily and a trio of large bodies stood looking ponderously about.

"I knew it," hissed Arc, his eyes glinting dangerously behind yellow lenses.

"Let's get 'em!" shouted Orchid, charging the nearest soldier. She swung widely, destroying and absorbing the soldier and a couple shadows that had crept too close. Next to her, Arc started to rain decimation upon other Heartless with his fist.

"Water!" shouted Montblanc, holding his rod aloft. Several Heartless were stopped as spheres of water filled up around them, then exploded in a torrent of high pressure liquid. The Heartless lay there weakened and wet, only to be fried into particles by the following spell as Montblanc cried, "Thunder!"

They efficiently chopped their way through the Heartless, each finding themselves able to take care of them while only receiving the most minor cuts and scratches.

"Take this!" yelled Arc, the light gleaming off his shades as he leaped above a large body. He slammed down, fist first on the Heartless's head, and it exploded into inky blackness around him.

Meanwhile, Orchid had come face to face with another large body. Or at least face to belly. The lumbering giant finally decided she wasn't something it liked, and after a little chest pounding, charged at her. Having been waiting for it, she rolled out of the way, and struck at its unprotected back. Continuing with its charge, the large body smashed into a wall and fell over. Seizing the opportunity, Orchid struck it repeatedly with the keyblade until it had been vanquished and absorbed.

The square had been cleared of Heartless once Montblanc finished his barrage of spells on the last large body, but something still didn't feel right. There was still a sense of darkness floating.

"Wait," started Orchid, looking to Arc, who was standing a few yards away, rubbing his stone hand, "didn't this happen before? To Sora, I mean?"

"I think so, kupo," said Montblanc, snuffling the air suspiciously.

"Then that means what's next is-" Orchid began, but was cut off as a large shadow fell upon them. Its cause slammed down between the three of them, scattering them like leaves to the wind. Clanking menacingly, it arranged itself to its full height. It was mostly purple, gray and black, and consisted of six floating parts; a round helmet with a face guard and three horns, one sticking up and one to each side, floated above an hourglass like armored torso with the Heartless symbol imprinted largely upon it; a floating pair of clawed gloves twirled threateningly in the air while the armored feet stomped noisily on the ground.

"GUARD ARMOR!" shouted trio together. They each dodged out of the way as the claws swung in a deadly circle. The metal monstrosity split into three units then, the torso whirl winding at Arc, the gauntlets clawing towards Montblanc and the feet charging at Orchid.

"Oh, no you don't," said Orchid, parrying and striking at the feet's advance, throwing them back and stopping their charge from building speed. The feet then started towards her again. She called the warmth of her magic to mind, and felt the fire build in her free hand.

"Fir-uwah!" she yelled as she jumped out of the way of the feet and her fireball shot off into the night sky. She decided that Montblanc was right; she would be wanting to practice that later. For the moment, she decided to stick with her keyblade. She ran from the feet to gain some distance, then charged them as they did the same; both ran at each other in a mad game of chicken. Just as they almost met, Orchid leapt over the feet, giving them a fly-by thrust of thorns as she passed over them, landing hard on her feet behind them. She backed away from them quickly, only to topple into Arc.

The pair landed hard on the ground. Before she could become aware of their proximity to each other, Arc grabbed her and rolled out of the way as the torso did a flip and tried to hit them with its head. The two of them were quickly on their feet again.

"I got an idea," said Arc, breathing heavily. He wiped some blood from his lip with his left hand.

"What?" asked Orchid, eyeing the feet, torso and head as they circled the pair.

"Attack the head," replied Arc, lowering his stone right hand, palm up. "Step on, and get ready to jump." Acting quickly and without question, Orchid got on and crouched down. Just as the feet charged, Arc flung up his right and brought it down, launching Orchid towards the head and bashing the feet at the same time.

Orchid landed hard on the edge of the torso's top opening with only her arms over the lip of the armor, and found herself face to face with the helmet. The whole thing spun wildly, trying to dislodge her like a wet dog shaking off water, but she clung on tightly and finally climbed on top of the armored body.

Swaying to keep her balance, she fell forward onto the free-floating helmet as the armor spun again, grabbing onto the top horn. In the dizzying few moments, she saw Montblanc fighting a losing battle as Arc wrestled with the feet, and then the body stopped. The torso flew down, ramming into Arc, knocking him to the floor to be dealt with by the feet, then flew back up. Unable to contain her rage, she swung herself around to be in front of the helm.

"You leave my friends," she yelled, kicking the visor up, to stare into the gleaming yellow eyes of the Guard Armor, "ALONE!"

She plunged Bramblebite into the inky blackness, and felt her hand almost go numb with reverberations that traveled up the haft of the blade. She was flung backwards to land hard on the pavement, without the keyblade. The armor twitched convulsively, the keyblade still sticking out of its head. Around her, the limbs of it were shattering and disintegrating. Finally, beams of light shot out of the visor, and the Heartless' armor cracked and shattered, then exploded in a spray of darkness, which became a vortex into the keyblade. Bramblebite hovered momentarily, then dropped to pierce the stones below and stick there, still vibrating and pulsing.

"Few, at least that's…" she started, looking around. Then she saw him. "Arc!"

He was lying on the ground, bleeding from a head wound. She ran over, looking to Montblanc, but the little moogle was too far away, only barely making progress towards them in his exhaustion. She knelt down, wondering what to do as she watched the blood flow down Arc's face.

_In the moment of need, the healing light shall bloom; you need but call._

A voice from eternity.

"Cure!" she cried urgently, holding both hands over him. Soft light formed between her hands, then drifted down onto him. As she watched, the blood flow slowed to a trickle, then stopped entirely. Before her very eyes, the gash on his forehead, previously obscured by the blood, sealed itself. Soon his face was completely healed, and his eyes slowly opened.

"You saved me…" said Arc. Orchid could only nod, her eyes wet; she had lost one friend, and she never wanted to lose another again.

"What was that, kupo?" asked Montblanc, finally making it to them. "How did you know that spell?"

"I-I don't know," said Orchid, getting up, and helping Arc up. "A voice told me…something,"

"What did it say?" squeaked the moogle urgently.

"I…don't remember," she replied, the voice already fading from her mind. Had it really even been there?

"Whatever," said Arc, smiling at her. "I'm just glad she knew the spell. A little longer and I think I might have…died? Or something bad."

-

They were now in the Accessory Shop. Cid was 'slacking', as Orchid thought of it, behind the counter, while she, Sora, Montblanc, and Arc had taken up various positions around the room, on the couch, and, in Monatblanc's case, on top of the fireplace.

"So now what?" asked Orchid from one end of the couch.

"Well," replied Sora, from the other end, "I think we'll have to find out what's happening in the other worlds. If the Heartless are back, then-"

"Hey," interrupted Cid, who had returned to his normal outfit, "who said anything about 'we'?"

"Well, Merlin said these three are going," stated Sora, "And I can help them."

"How? You have no keyblade; you can't fight."

"I can do magic!"

"I saw. But even though you know some top-end spells, you barely even do more damage than Montblanc."

"What are you saying? That I've weakened?"

"That's exactly what I'm say!"

Cid was cut off as a winged envelope flew in through the chimney, becoming slightly scorched, to land in Orchid's lap as the wings disappeared. She opened it quickly and began to read aloud.

"It starts 'To Orchid and Co.,'" she read. " 'If my timing is right, then Sora just said that he'd be going with you,'"

"He's a few seconds off," mused Arc.

" 'To prevent this, as it would both hinder you and endanger him if I did not, I feel I must explain further. Sora will be needed later, but now he would only get in the way or hurt in his weakened state. He was the wielder of the Key of World, Heart. You, Orchid, wield the Key of World, Life. These are the two halves of it. Before, Sora had built up his and its power in a constant rise. Now, four years later, it has taken a sudden plunge, and him with it. In its place, the second half should rise with you. If I am correct, when it reaches its personal apex of power, at the time of need, the Heart half should be restored and both shall come forth to save our world. Sora, I plead that you stay here, until the time comes. You shall know when. Your friend, Merlin'," finished Orchid.

They stood in silence awhile.

"Fine," said Sora, defeated. He walked out of the Shop, presumably for the Hotel in the Second District.

"Either way, with or without him," said Arc, "he's right. We'll have to see the other worlds."

"But how will we get there, kupo?" asked Montblanc. "We have no ship."

"Oh, ho!" answered Cid cheerfully. "That's what you think! The Cid before me, Cid Highwind, was a gummi ship man. I think it can be used, since the world barriers are down, seeing as the Heartless are back. I'll take you to it."

-

They were soon sitting in side the gummi ship, gently orbiting the world of Traverse town.

"Wow," said Orchid, her face pressed up against the glass. "I didn't know the night sky was so big!"

"It's called space," said Arc absently, busy messing with the controls.

"It's beautiful," she whispered.

"Pretty kupo, huh?" said Montblanc, also admiring the stars.

"Here it is!" said Arc, causing the other two to turn. "The map!"

"So where are we going?" asked Orchid.

"Kupopo…There's a one by the world over there," said Montblanc, pointing. "Let's go there."

"Um…Wonderland…" said Arc vaguely.

"To Wonderland!" shouted Orchid.

And they were off.


	9. An Old Man in the Queen's Court

Fuhgeddaboutit: Ah ha! Wonderland/Carroll land! So happy! The chapters there can be confusing, but then again, Lewis was a druggee. I'm not, but then again, I'm insane. For the disclaiming record, I don't own anything KH, FF, or any of Lewis Carroll's poems. If you did as suggested, and read Jabberwocky, or have a copy open as you read, you'll notice where I quote it. Thanks to my reviewers: HisLight and ChaosT. To ChaosT: sorry, even though I will have some new spells, (bio, terror, holy, flare) Sora probably won't use them, and won't get any butt kicking time until Hollow Bastion. But then, it'll be the biggest butt kicking round ever. Oh, ho, it'll be such a cool fight. But between who? Well Sora obviously, and Orchid has to be there, being the main character. But who else? SquallCOUGHCOUGHrikuCOUGHCOUGH Oh yeah, I've got almost the entire out line planned out, including the junk at the end of the world. It's gonna be a full out war against the Heartless. Everyone's gonna be there. EVERYONE. Except some people. As I stated before in Chap1, Ansem is a mere shade of nothing. That was his only appearance. But there's gonna be something related to him. On a (un?)related topic, who was the one who whispered to Orchid after the Guard Armor fight? Mysterious…RR!

* * *

-

'_Twas brillig and the slithy toves_

_Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;_

_All mimsy were the borogroves,_

_And the mome raths outgrabe._

-

"We've been in these woods for hours and found nothing but Heartless," muttered Arc, swinging his stone hand impatiently and dangerously. They were currently making their way through an extensive forest that seemed to consist of giant mushrooms, towering lily pad trees, and story high grass. The strangest thing, though, was the fact that if they headed far enough in one direction, they encountered the edge of the forest. It's not that it cleared out into open land. It's that the forest stopped being relatively real, and started being a painting on a wall. They had encountered the edge, or edges, they couldn't tell, several times. They now wandered aimlessly, unable to call the gummi ship to pick them up, and unable to find an exit.

"They've gotten stronger, kupo," commented Montblanc. "Now they have fire and ice mages. Red Nocturne and Blue Rhapsody if I remember Sora's story."

"Not that it matters," said Orchid, looking around, quite bored of the childlike scenery. "Whatever the name, they're still Heartless."

"Now, now," said a voice, causing them all to pause and look around cautiously, "That was quite a _heartless_ thing to say of them, don't you think?"

A wide grin appeared above a stone a few feet in front of the trio. It was followed by a pair of smiling cat eyes.

"What are you?" asked Orchid in shock. The grin and eyes soon found themselves on a cat's head. "Who are you?"

"I," stated the head, soon seated on a plump, purple and pink striped furry body, "am known as the Cheshire Cat. Didn't you know?"

"If we did, why would she ask?" said Arc flatly, clearly not amused.

"Now why would I know?" replied the Cheshire Cat, lounging around lazily. "You should ask her. She asked."

"You're not making any sense!" said Orchid, flustered.

"Of course not," replied the cat, lying on his back, though his head was still right side up. "I don't get paid at all."

"What? Where did that come from?" asked Orchid, utterly confused.

"My mouth, of course. You seem to talk from one too."

"Can you say a single straight answer?" yelled Arc, getting frustrated.

"Oh, no," replied the cat, rolling back and forth on the stone, while keeping his head completely level. "I'm afraid my words go in waves like most sound, not lines."

Arc was just about to attack the reclining cat, when he heard a chuckle. Then another. He and Orchid turned to see Montblanc, his hand over his mouth, shaking with mirth, his antenna pompom looking right about to fall off.

"What?" asked Arc, still frustrated.

"Yeah, what's so funny?" demanded Orchid.

"He has the only blade that grows sharper with use," chortled Montblanc.

"En garde! Your wit is sharp too!" exclaimed the cat, righting itself into a sit. "But enough of this play, for I come for a reason."

"And what might that be?" asked Arc, still not pleased with the cat.

"A message, or warning, or at least instruction," said the Cheshire Cat. "If you want out of these woods, I suggest you follow the rabbit, though you never know what happens when you follow rabbits."

"What rabbit?" asked Orchid.

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" said a furry white rabbit as he hurried by. He was wearing a red vest and was waving around a pocket watch as he scrambled off, his monocle flying behind him on its string.

"That rabbit," replied the Cheshire, his body already gone.

"Thank you!" shouted Montblanc as the three hurried off.

"He thanks me," mused the cat, now only a grin, "for all the trouble I've just given him. They'll wish they'd stayed in the woods, or hearty adventurers they be,"

And then there was nothing.

-

They came to a hole in the wall, sure the white rabbit had gone through.

"Well, nothing for it," muttered Arc, as he stepped through, followed by Montblanc and Orchid.

On the other side was a brightly lit court, walled with high hedges. They watched curiously as soldiers looking like playing cards marched about. Several were busily painting white roses red.

"What sort of place is this?" asked Orchid, looking around.

"You now stand in the court of Her Majesty, the Red Queen!" shouted a voice. They turned to see the white rabbit standing on a raised platform next to a dais with a throne atop it. Sitting in it was a pudgy, grouchy looking woman wearing a dress of red, white, and black, and waving a scepter with a heart on it.

"Who are you?" asked the Queen demandingly. "Are you the ones who have been attacking my soldiers and trying to steal my heart?"

"Your Majesty, I th-think-" started the white rabbit, but was cut off.

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" shouted the Queen.

Suddenly, the trio found themselves surrounded by card soldiers.

"Great," muttered Arc, pushing up his shades. "Just great."

"Look, I think there's been a confusion, kupo," said Montblanc as the soldiers circled in.

"I don't think they're going to listen," said Orchid, the keyblade appearing in her grip. She had mastered the feat in their hours in the Lotus Forest.

"Your Majesty, you really shouldn't-" the rabbit tried to warn.

"GET THEM!" screamed the Red Queen. The card soldiers immediately jumped at the three, landing in a giant dog pile. All that could be heard was some muffled shouting as the card soldiers piled on. Then the pile stopped moving. Then it began to shake violently. Then it exploded into the largest game of fifty-two-card pickup.

"GET OFFA ME!" raged Arc, swinging his arms wide, flinging the card soldiers about. And with that, the battle ensued.

Orchid struck out at the cards, occasionally letting off salvos of fireballs while Arc bashed away at them. Montblanc struck out with his magic, dousing with water, burning with fire, freezing with ice, jolting with thunder and blasting with air. The cards fell easily, but it was only a matter of time before they were standing again. They never stayed down, and the trio was soon flagging in strength.

"GET THEM!" screamed the Queen again, ignoring the white rabbit. Arc was trying to shake off several card soldiers clinging to him, Orchid barely keeping back the soldiers that had surrounded her, and Montblanc was quickly running out of energy. Suddenly, a sagacious voice rang out over the court, causing all to pause.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

They all turned to see an elderly looking man dressed in a brown robe. He had frizzy white hair, bushy white eyebrows that almost covered his eyes, and a rounded face. He walked calmly through the paused fray, and began gently shooing the card soldiers away, and they walked off and back to their posts, though they kept a wary eye on the three. Montblanc, Arc, and Orchid were more than welcome for a stop, and got up gratefully.

"What is the meaning of this!" shouted the Red Queen, her face almost matching her name. "Explain yourself, Lewis!"

The old man turned to her and merely smiled.

"I thought I already warned you," he said simply.

"Th-th-that's what I was trying to tell you," the white rabbit whispered to the Queen. "These people aren't the ones."

"Your intelegm friend is right," supported the old man. "I told you, it's that malkiated fiend and the shadows that are troubling your most eskeen and lihtmous kingdom. If anything, these three are the very kmesk to solve your mome problem, if you know what I mean."

"You think that these…people can get rid of the pests?" asked the Queen, finally calming down.

"In short, yes," said the man, waving his hand aimlessly. He turned to Orchid. "As for you, I should think you have many a natterly question, no?"

"Um, yeah…" said Orchid, confused by the eccentric old man. "Who are you, and what's going on?"

"Ah, the Big questions," muttered the old man. "I am called many things. You may call me Mr. Carroll. As for our most venixum situation, we have many problems. As you may have noticed, there are shadows everywhere in Wonderland now. You can hardly step out of our eskeen Queen's court without meeting them."

"You mean Heartless, kupo?" asked Montblanc.

"Yes, I do recall some such symbol," said Mr. Carroll. "A heart with a cross through it?"

"Yeah, that'd be the Heartless," grunted Arc, peering at him over his glasses.

"Many of them, but they're not the true problem," continued the old man. "The thing that is at the heart of our Heartless problem is a most malkiated, tragnicious creature. It lurks in the shallows of the Tulgey Woods."

"And I take it you want us to kill it?" suggested Orchid.

"Ah, a most asknet guess! Yes, yes, that's exactly what we'd like."

"Why should we help you?" asked Arc.

"Ah, but you will. You know it to be right, and these shadows are your foe too, are they not?" said Carroll. "But I understand. Please forgive the Queen. Many a late day has been very venixum for her. She's actually a very fair and just ruler, provided it doesn't involve crimes against her or beheading."

"How can we defeat this beast?" ask Montblanc. "Will it fall to magic or might, kupo?"

"It may, but it can only be truly defeated by one thing."

"And what's that?" asked Orchid eagerly.

"The Vorpal Blade," replied Carroll.

"And where do we get that?" Arc asked impatiently.

"Oh, I have it."

"Then can you give it to us, kupo?" asked Montblanc politely.

"Of course not."

"YOU! You want us to save you and this place and you won't help?" shouted Arc. "Give us the friggin' sword or-"

"Oh, sorry. I believe that you misunderstood my answer," interrupted the old man quickly. "What I meant was that I can't just give it to you, or how would I make a living? You need to do something for me."

"What?" said Orchid, not exactly happy.

"I would like three things: oysters, a spot of tea, and a book I lent the Turtle."

"And where do you expect us to find these?" asked Arc flatly.

"Dunno. 's not my problem."

And with that, he wandered off.


	10. Oysters by the Sea

Hey!Hey!Look!Look!(or Oi!Oi!Mitte!Mitte!): Nyan…This one has a complete Carroll poem, noted by the italicized verses. Did you catch the Old Man's full name? I couldn't think of a better one for him. Anyways, this chapter seems kind of long, but actually most of the lines are the poem. I hope you like how the Cheshire Cat acts. I think he's highly amusing. Arc doesn't think so.

Arc: I wanna wring his furry neck!

Umm: Right…anyways, RR. Reel Big Fish Rocks! And Burning Airlines! And Aquabats! And The Pillows! Hahaha…to think I got to this cuz I was bored and looked up 'keyblade' under the google image search. Brought me to someone's website, which linked to their story, and then the wide, wide world of was opened to me.

* * *

-

The three once more found themselves wandering in the Lotus Forest.

"How are we supposed to find oysters?" moaned Orchid.

"Seeing sea food?" came the voice. "You need to see the sea for seeing sea food to be seeable, don't you see?"

"Not you again," Arc cursed. The Cheshire Cat appeared in front of them. This time, his body was standing on his head, precariously balanced.

"And what can you tell us, kupo?" Montblanc asked tiredly; even he was feeling depressed at the prospect of having to find the three things, and his antenna ball drooped sadly.

"I can tell you many things," replied the Cat with a smile. "But as for the oysters, I'd suggest visiting an expert. He eats them all the time."

"Are you going to tell us where he is?" asked Orchid, trying to maintain a pleasant and inoffensive voice. She wasn't highly amused by his games, but if he had the information they needed…

"The tusked man and his woodworking friend can be found by the beach of course," answered the Cheshire Cat. "You can get there in a few easy steps. First, you'll need to get up-"

The cat disappeared to reappear in one of the high corners of the room that held the Lotus Forest.

"Here," he finished. They stared up at him.

"How?" started Orchid.

"I see," said Arc. He pointed out several mushrooms and lily pads leading to the cat. "We need to follow that path."

They went over to the lowest one and jumped, scrambled, and flew up to the top. They made their way to where the cat lazed about, careful not to fall. Montblanc could easily enough fly, but Arc occasionally had to fling Orchid up past some of the higher ledges. Finally, panting and quite warm from all the leaping, they found themselves in front of the cat once more.

"Bravo! Bravo!" said the Cheshire Cat. He indicated a hole in the wall with one pudgy paw. "Now just go through there, and you'll find another room. If you can figure out the way to the beach, I might just give you something."

By the end of his sentence, he was only a grin, and then, not even that.

"Do we go through?" asked Orchid.

"Does it look like we have a choice?" grumbled Arc. He stepped through the hole, and the other two followed.

They come out the other side standing on the wall. They were in a room that seemed to be made for someone several times their size, and the floor was on one side and the ceiling to the other. A table stood on the floor, and some lamps and windows were on and near the ceiling. On the wall on which they stood were a couple of wall lamps, a shelf and a picture.

"What a…Bizarre Room," commented Orchid. The three of them walked out towards the middle, not sure what to expect.

A fireball suddenly whizzed by their heads. They turned to see several Heartless mages, a large body, some soldiers, and a host of shadows.

"So, they want to fight, do they?" said Arc, pushing up his yellow shades.

The Heartless charged them, and chaos broke loose. The mages flew overhead, while Montblanc shot spells at them, and Orchid and Arc bashed their way through the mass of jangling soldiers and shifting shadows, trying not to be smashed by the large body. Having cleared the area around her, Orchid took aim at one of the mages.

"Fire!" she shouted. The fireball struck the Red Nocturne, but instead of being destroyed, it merely spun in a circle and seemed revitalized.

"Not kupo!" yelled Montblanc. "They're healed by their own magic, but hurt by the opposite especially, kupo. Fire and ice for example. Blizzard!"

The mage Orchid had hit was suddenly encased in ice, then shattered and disappeared. Nodding at Montblanc, she continued blasting mages, but this time careful to only aim at the blue ones. Soon, they had finished off all the Heartless.

"So now what?" asked Orchid.

"Over here, kupo!" said Montblanc, hovering over the picture on the wall. Orchid and Arc walked over to look.

"Well, well," mused Arc.

"It's a beach!" said Orchid excitedly. And a beach it was. There was a sun and a moon in the sky, making it half night and half day in the picture.

"So how do we get there?" asked Arc.

In response, Montblanc poked the picture with his rod. The crescent moon on the end dipped in, and the picture rippled like water. They stared at it.

"One second…" said Orchid, reminded by the rod. It had got her thinking about magic. "If the Heartless are just now starting to use magic, then it wasn't a Heartless that froze Cid in time, was it?"

"Kupo!" exclaimed Montblanc. "I had forgotten entirely about that. Who did Stop the Judgemaster?"

They stared at Arc. He stared back with his deep blue eyes. Then he finally turned away.

"It was my doing. I had Yuffie do it. I wanted to see Orchid's strength, and the best I could think of was to have her face the Heartless alone. But then Montblanc appeared. So that's why I fought you, since he got rid of most of the Heartless for you," he finished.

"I was wondering about all that," said Orchid. "Usually people don't just attack me for no reason."

"Anyway, it doesn't matter," replied Arc sharply. "Let's just go through already."

And with that, the three of them hopped into the picture.

-

_The sun was shining on the sea,  
Shining with all his might:  
He did his very best to make  
The billows smooth and bright-  
And this was odd, because it was  
The middle of the night._

_The moon was shining sulkily,  
Because she thought the sun  
Had got no business to be there  
After the day was done-  
"It's very rude of him" she said,  
"To come and spoil the fun"_

_The sea was wet as wet could be,_  
_The sands were dry as dry.  
You could not see a cloud, because  
No cloud was in the sky:  
No birds were flying overhead-  
There were no birds to fly._

They stared about on the open beach. There was almost nothing there. They wandered aimlessly up the coast, Orchid amusing herself by stepping over the fine line between night and day repeatedly, occasionally walking halfway in each. Even Arc was somewhat amused by the strange lighting, his white trench coat blowing in the sea breeze. Then, they heard talking and turned to see what was happening.

_The Walrus and the Carpenter  
Were walking close at hand;  
They wept like anything to see  
Such quantities of sand:  
"If this were only cleared away"  
They said"it would be grand"_

A fat walrus, wearing a coat, spectacles and, strangely enough, pants and shoes was walking and conversing with a lanky old man wearing a work apron over his clothes and a carpenter's hat as they ambled up the beach towards them.

_"If seven maids with seven mops  
Swept it for half a year.  
Do you suppose" the Walrus said,  
"That they could get it clear"  
"I doubt it" said the Carpenter,  
And shed a bitter tear._

"Who are they?" asked Orchid, staring at the odd pair.

" 'The tusked man and his woodworking friend', kupo!" cried Montblanc. "They must be who the Cheshire Cat was talking about."

The pair stopped a little ways from them at the edge of the sea, and they were peering intently into the water.

_"O Oysters, come and walk with us"  
The Walrus did beseech.  
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,  
Along the briny beach:  
We cannot do with more than four,  
To give a hand to each."_

_The eldest Oyster looked at him,  
But never a word he said:  
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,  
And shook his heavy head-  
Meaning to say he did not choose  
To leave the oyster-bed._

_But four young Oysters hurried up,  
All eager for the treat:  
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,  
Their shoes were clean and neat-  
And this was odd, because, you know,  
They hadn't any feet._

_Four other Oysters followed them,  
And yet another four;  
And thick and fast they came at last,  
And more, and more, and more-  
All hopping through the frothy waves,  
And scrambling to the shore._

"Aw, they're so cute!" said Orchid, letting a little of her more girly side out.

"I guess," muttered Arc, clearly not interested. "Let's just get them and leave."

"Wait a second," said Montblanc. "What did the Cat say?"

"Oh!" cried Orchid. " 'I'd suggest visiting an expert. He eats them all the time'! They're gonna eat all those little oysters! That's just cold!"

"And what do you think Mr. Carroll was going to do with them?" asked Arc, amused by Orchid being flustered. "Keep them as pets?"

"Oh…well, um," mumbled Orchid, pushing her forefinger tips together nervously.

"That's the problem when things get anthropomorphic, kupo," sighed Montblanc, walking off after the horde of oysters. "Oh, let's just go get some."

_The Walrus and the Carpenter  
Walked on a mile or so,  
And then they rested on a rock  
Conveniently low:  
And all the little Oysters stood  
And waited in a row._

_"The time has come" the Walrus said,  
"To talk of many things:  
Of shoes-and ships-and sealing-wax-  
Of cabbages-and kings-  
And why the sea is boiling hot-  
And whether pigs have wings."_

_"But wait a bit" the Oysters cried,  
"Before we have our chat;  
For some of us are out of breath,  
And all of us are fat"  
"No hurry" said the Carpenter.  
They thanked him much for that._

By now they had gathered five or six oysters and were using Arc's trench coat as a make shift bag.

"I swear, these better not stain," he muttered mutinously.

"I hate this," mumbled Orchid. "Food should never be able to plead or cry 'Help!'"

"Well, it's not like they'd have been better off here, kupo," said Montblanc, his wings flittering restlessly from were he stood. They watched in horrified interest as the Walrus started talking.

_"A loaf of bread" the Walrus said,  
"Is what we chiefly need:  
Pepper and vinegar besides  
Are very good indeed-  
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,  
We can begin to feed."_

_"But not on us" the Oysters cried,  
Turning a little blue.  
"After such kindness, that would be  
A dismal thing to do"  
"The night is fine" the Walrus said.  
"Do you admire the view?_

_"It was so kind of you to come!  
And you are very nice"  
The Carpenter said nothing but  
"Cut us another slice:  
I wish you were not quite so deaf-  
I've had to ask you twice"_

At this point the three had started to walk away.

_"It seems a shame" the Walrus said,  
"To play them such a trick,  
After we've brought them out so far,  
And made them trot so quick"  
The Carpenter said nothing but  
"The butter's spread too thick"_

_"I weep for you" the Walrus said:  
"I deeply sympathize."  
With sobs and tears he sorted out  
Those of the largest size,  
Holding his pocket-handkerchief  
Before his streaming eyes._

They found the wall of air that rippled when they touched it, and without looking back, they stepped through with their cargo of mollusks.

_"O Oysters" said the Carpenter,  
"You've had a pleasant run!  
Shall we be trotting home again?'  
But answer came there none-  
And this was scarcely odd, because  
They'd eaten every one._


	11. Mad as a March Hare, or Madder

Ahhh: the next chapter…finally…sorry for the delay, but I spent 2 days using all my free time to read someone's 39 chapter KH fanfic. Yeah…Now's the Hatter's turn. I think the next chapter should be able to cover the rest of wonderland…or not. Probably 2 chapters. Hanh…I could tell you about my plans for Arc and his sidestory, but you'll find that out soon enough in (counts in head, "um, average 3-4 chaps per world, plus 'tweeners" and on fingers) 21 chaps? (funny, I was actually pretty close...)Um…READ AND REVIEW! BOTH OR NEITHER! ACKNOWLEDGE MY EXISTANCE!

PS: Think it's long? Well, it'll be like the game. I spent 70 hours playing that…so you get to spend 70 hours reading my whole story when it's done!

* * *

-

"Well played!" came the voice as they stood on the wall. "I see you found the beach in the middle of the wall."

Arc's right hand clenched, and there was the sound of grinding stone as the Cheshire Cat appeared before them. He was sitting on a nearby shelf, which rendered him sideways to them, yet in correct orientation to the floor. They walked over to him.

"What do you want?" said Arc, glaring frostily.

"Oh, that's cold!" laughed the Cat. "But I did promise you something if you found it. Here," he said, holding out his paw, "one frosty gift deserves another."

An orb of glowing light blue appeared. Orchid walked up and held out her hand, and the ball rolled sideways off the Cat's paw to fall down onto her hand.

"Cold," she said. Then she instinctively pressed the orb of energy to her chest and it was absorbed in. She shivered as her body went cold, but then it passed.

"The magic Blizzard, kupo?" piped up Montblanc. Then to Orchid, "Wasn't it easier this time?"

Orchid nodded. Then she aimed her hand, palm outwards, at an oversized book on the shelf, behind the Cheshire Cat. She imagined cold, biting wind and frost, and felt her hand cool sharply. Then she released it. "Blizzard!"

A spray of ice crystals and frost shot out in a spreading cloud that dissipated a few yards away from her. The Cheshire slinked easily from the shelf to the wall, making the transfer of gravity deceptively effortless as he righted himself in Arc, Montblanc, and Orchid's view.

"As you can see, kupo," said Montblanc. "It has a shorter range, but covers a wider area."

"Right," said Orchid, already mentally working out what situations to use Fire and Blizzard in. Then she turned back to the Cat, who was cleaning his purple and pink fur with his tongue. "Do you know where to find some tea?"

"In the Tea Garden, of course," answered the Cat smartly, pausing in his bath. "The door's over there."

He pointed one pudgy paw at a little door on a wall near the ceiling, sideways to them, right side up to the ceiling though. Arc ran across the giant wall to the corner and looked up at it. There was no way to get to it. He walked back, asking the cat, "How are we supposed to get up there?"

"Walk of course," smiled the Cheshire Cat, his body gone. "But then, it will be quite an interesting walk."

And then he was gone.

"Now what?" asked Orchid, racking her brain for ways to reach the door.

"I hate that cat!" growled Arc in frustration, slamming his stone fist into the shelf. It shook under the impact, then fell over, or down if you oriented with the room's floor. The books that had been resting on it fell towards the floor to land in disarray, revealing what had been behind them.

"A hole!" said Orchid pointing. Sure enough, there was a hole in the wall that had been covered by the books. The trio walked over and peered inside.

"It's pitch black, kupo," observed Montblanc.

"Do we go in?" asked Orchid, looking up to Arc.

"Nothing for it," he said, walking in. The other two exchanged glances, then followed.

They came out, and found themselves back in the Bizarre Room. But now they were on the ceiling. They were only mystified for a few seconds, then shrugged it off. Some things, you just shouldn't try to think about.

"So where's that door?" asked Arc, scratching his head with his left hand. Orchid decided that he was definitely southpaw in everything but fighting.

"Over there, kupo," replied Montblanc, pointing his rod at the wall opposite of them. They ran across, avoiding the lamps that were hanging up to the floor. They reached the door, relieved that no Heartless had appeared. Then they opened the door, and stepped through.

There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head.

"That looks…" started Arc.

"Uncomfortable, kupo," finished Montblanc.

"But it's asleep," said Orchid, "so I guess it doesn't mind."

The table was fairly large, but the three that were sitting were all crowded together at one corner of it.

"No room! No room!" they cried out when they saw the other three coming.

"There's _lots_ of room!" said Orchid indignantly, and she sat down in a large armchair at one end of the table. Arc sat next to her, and Montblanc next to him.

"Have some wine," the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

They looked all round the table, Arc more eagerly than the other two, but there was nothing on it but tea.

"I don't see any wine," he remarked.

"There isn't any," said the March Hare.

"Then it wasn't very civil of you to offer it, kupo," said Montblanc.

"It wasn't very civil of you to sit down without being invited," said the March Hare.

"I didn't know it was _your_ table," said Orchid, "I mean, it's laid for many more than three."

"Your hair wants cutting," said the Hatter. He had been looking at Orchid for some time with great curiosity, and this was his first speech.

"That's not really any of your business," snapped Orchid, reflexively running her hand through her hair.

The Hatter opened his eyes very wide when he heard this, but all he _said_ was, "Why is a raven like a writing-desk?"

"Oh, I like riddles, kupo. I believe I can guess that," Montblanc squeaked.

"Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?" said the March Hare.

"Exactly so, kupo" said Montblanc.

"Then you should say what you mean," the March Hare went on.

"He does," Orchid interjected, "at least-at least he means what he says-that's the same thing, right?"

"Not the same thing a bit!" said the Hatter. "You might just as well say that 'I see what I eat' is the same thing as 'I eat what I see'!"

"You might just as well say," added the March Hare, "that 'I like what I get' is the same thing as 'I get what I like'!"

"You might just as well say," added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, "that 'I breathe when I sleep' is the same thing as 'I sleep when I breathe'!"

"It _is_ the same thing with you," said the Hatter, and there the conversation stopped, and the party sat silent for a minute, while the trio thought over all they could remember about ravens and writing desks, which wasn't much.

"What day of the month is it?" asked the Hatter suddenly. He had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.

"The fourth," replied Orchid after a little consideration.

"Two days wrong!" sighed the Hatter. "I told you butter wouldn't suit the works!" he added, looking angrily at the March Hare.

"It was the _best_ butter," the March Hare meekly replied.

"Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well," the Hatter grumbled. "You shouldn't have put it in with the bread-knife."

The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again, but he couldn't think of anything better to say than his first remark, "It was the _best_ butter, you know."

Orchid had been looking over his shoulder with some curiosity. "What a weird watch!" she remarked. "It tells the day of the month, and doesn't tell the time."

"Why should it?" muttered the Hatter. "Does _your_ watch tell you what year it is?"

"Of course not, kupo" Montblanc replied very readily, "but that's because it stays the same year for such a long time."

"Which is just the case with _mine_," said the Hatter.

The trio felt extremely puzzled. The Hatter's remark seemed to have no sort of meaning in it, even though it was certainly English. "You don't make any sense at all," they said bluntly.

"The Dormouse is asleep again," said the Hatter, and he poured a little hot tea on its nose.

The Dormouse shook its head impatiently, and said, without opening its eyes, "Of course, of course; just what I was going to remark myself."

"Have you guessed the riddle yet?" the Hatter said, turning to Montblanc again.

"No, I give up," Montblanc replied. "What's the answer?"

"I haven't the slightest idea," said the Hatter.

"Nor I," said the March Hare.

Arc sighed wearily. "You'd think you might do something better with the time," he said, "than waste it in asking riddles with no answers."

"Oh, but you didn't see our concert last month," said the Hatter. He leaned over to Orchid and pointed his thumb back at the March Hare. "Just before he went mad," he added, then resumed his seat. "Now that was a waste of time."

"Would you like to hear?" asked the March Hare. Before the trio could say "no", the March Hare and the Hatter jumped onto the table, linked elbows and began dancing madly about, kicking outrageously and sending tea sets flying while singing uproariously:

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat,

How I wonder what you're at.

Up above the world you fly,

Like a tea tray in the sky.

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat,

How I wonder what you're at."

They both jumped and landed kneeling, their arms thrown wide dramatically.

"TWI-I-INKLE LI-I-ITTLE BA-A-A-A-AT!"

The pair walked off the table and to their seats, taking turns bowing and applauding to each other in the stunned silence, the only other sound being the dormouse's snoring.

"Look at this mess!" said Orchid, staring at the spilled tea and strewn cups.

"Time to move!" declared the Hatter. He moved on as he spoke, and the Dormouse followed him: the March Hare moved into the Dormouse's place, and Orchid rather unwillingly took the place of the March Hare while Arc and Montblanc scooted over. The Hatter was the only one who got any advantage from the change, and Orchid was a good deal worse off than before, as the March Hare had just upset the milk-jug into his plate.

"Have a tea kettle," whispered Arc to Orchid, handing her one.

"Why are you giving it to me?" she asked, while Montblanc and the Hatter bandied words.

"'Cause I'm stuck carrying the oysters," he reminded her, jostling his trench-coat-turned-bag, causing a few muffled shouts to come out of it.

"Fine," she said, taking it. Then, to the March Hare, "I'm afraid we must be going…"

"Why so soon?" asked the March Hare.

"It looks like it's going to rain…" mumbled Arc, looking up at the gray sky.

"Oh no, it never rains here…" said the Hatter, as water started to patter down. The three were walking quickly towards the gate when they heard him finish behind them.

"It pours."

They ran out the gate and into the Lotus Forest, as a torrential storm broke loose. It was as if a whole sea was draining out of the sky, and soon they were up to their waists in water, or in Montblanc's case, floating around in it.

"What's with this water?" shouted Orchid above the rain. It was now up to her chest. She tried to grab Montblanc, but it was in vain.

"Just hold on!" shouted back Arc, holding out his hand. But she couldn't reach it. Soon, the water was above their heads, and they were swept away with the deluge.


	12. Blade & Turtle

Wagga: Second to last acid(wonderland) chapter. Yeah…tired(not of this, but physically)…NEXT ONE IS THE CONFRONTATION OF THE BANDERSNATCH! You may be asking, "I thought the poem was about the Jabberwock?" Well, lets just say that, right now, the Jabberwock would eat them alive. But it'll make an appearance later. Much later. As in, single digit numbers of chapters before The End of the World later. But I'm getting ahead of myself. None of that happens this chapter. Now, Read on, and most importantly, REVIEW! Considering I only have 4 reviewers, I'll now even gladly accept constructive criticism, as it lets me know you read this! I won't enjoy flamers, but I think it's stupid to say "no flames, please" since the only people who flame are idiot jerks who wouldn't listen to that anyways.

PS: As of this Chapter 12, 43 pages and 20,630 words not including the crap I right at the beginning. And we're not even out of Wonderland. Abandon all hope all ye who enter.

* * *

-

Orchid opened her eyes to the drip-dripping sound of water.

"Oh, awake are we?" said a slow voice. She looked up into the face of… something. Whatever it was, it had the head of a calf or some other rodent, she really couldn't decide. It had the body and arms of a turtle, and long, scrawny legs and tail of some mammal. It backed away and she sat up, looking around.

She was in a large, gloomy cavern, and could barely make out piles of…things all around her in the gloom. She could see Arc, almost blending in with his black shirt, and Montblanc, easily spotted by his white fur and red pompom, sitting up in the dark, looking at her and the strange creature.

"Are you…the Turtle?" asked Orchid, hoping he was the one Mr. Carroll had mentioned. The creature looked back at her, then answered slowly.

"I am the Mock Turtle," he said evenly. "Though I'm called that occasionally."

"I've never heard of a Mock Turtle, kupo," said Montblanc.

"Well, what do you think they make Mock Turtle Soup out of?" drawled the Mock Turtle. "I used to be a real turtle once…"

And there the Mock Turtle stopped. In the poor lighting, the three could only make out its vague shape, but from what they heard, they could tell it was sobbing.

"Do you, umm, mind if we turn on a light or something?" asked Arc uncomfortably, looking around for anything that might emit light.

"I have a fireplace…" said the Mock Turtle eventually, waving a fin vaguely at a large shape. "But it's so wet down here, and I can't ever get the wood to light…"

"I can help!" said Orchid cheerfully. She moved to where the Mock Turtle had indicated, and felt around until she found the opening for the fireplace.

"Fire," she uttered softly and a small flame leapt from her hand to the wood inside. It burned there just the way a natural flame wouldn't until the wood caught fire. Soon, they had a cheery blaze going, and the trio drank in their surroundings that were revealed by the light it gave off.

There were piles of papers and books everywhere. They themselves were sitting on a rug near the brick fireplace, and the Mock Turtle had settled into an overstuffed armchair, his shell sinking into the cushion. All of this was on a circular stone platform that stood about a foot or so out of the water. They were in a large cavern like tunnel, and other than the Mock Turtle's ten-foot platform, the only things besides water were a set a stepping stones leading to a ladder that went up into a hole in the low ceiling.

"Why, thank you," said the turtle slowly. He closed his eyes contentedly. "You don't know how long it's been since I had a good light down here…"

"How long?" asked Orchid.

"Two days," he drawled. "I told you, you didn't know."

There was a long silence where no one said anything.

"Um…how did we get here?" asked Orchid, breaking the silence.

"Oh, everything in the water ends up here…" said the Mock Turtle slowly. "You looked interesting, so I pulled you three out…not driftwood, not books, not rocks, not rats, not cards, not treacle…"

He mumbled on like this for a while. While he did, Orchid looked around for the oysters and the teapot. She found the teapot sitting on the floor next to her, and the trench coat of oysters behind Arc. When she checked, the tea was still good and hot, and the oysters had yet to escape from the loose knot they had tied them with. And all of her clothes, from her blue sweater sleeves, to her mostly white shoes, were completely dry. She decided it wasn't worth worrying about and was just glad they hadn't lost their stuff.

"…not scroll, not bear, nor church, so I pulled you out," finished the Mock Turtle.

"Um, thank you, kupo," said Montblanc, snapping back to attention, sending his antenna pompom a-jiggling. Arc yawned loudly, but the strange reptile took no notice.

"Since you brought me a fire…" continued the Mock Turtle, "I should give you something to put it out with."

He stood up and wandered ponderously over to Orchid. He held out his fin and a deep blue sphere of energy appeared above it.

"Of course, there's lots of it all around here," he said, tipping his fin and dropping it into her hands. She looked at it, and, after deciding what it was, she pulled it into her. There was a brief sensation of drowning, followed by a lingering effect that could only be described as "sloshiness". Then it was gone.

"Water?" she asked, looking at Montblanc. The moogle nodded. Not seeing any targets around, she didn't try it out. She turned back to the Mock Turtle. "Um…"

"Yes?" he asked slowly. Arc had fallen asleep.

"Umm…do you know Mr. Carroll?" she asked.

"Oh, Lewis?" replied the Mock Turtle ponderously. "Of course."

"Well…he said he let you borrow a book," Orchid continued. "He'd like it back."

"Just a moment," said the turtle. He stood there.

Orchid stared, waiting patiently. Montblanc did likewise. Arc snored contentedly.

Just as she was about to say something, Orchid was cut off as the Mock turtle suddenly turned and walked off between the hazardous stacks of books. Finally, he came to one and pulled out a dusty volume that was a few books from the top of its pile. For some reason, the things on top fell straight down, not sliding off at all. Then he ponderously wandered back.

"Here you go…" said the turtle, handing the book to Orchid. She looked at it, and then blew the dust off.

"_Alice in Wonderland_…" she muttered, reading the title. Then she tossed it to Montblanc. "Whatever…you carry it."

"Kupo!" exclaimed as the book hit him. He stumbled back a little, then regained his balance and tucked the book under one arm. "Well, thank you for your hospitality," he said to the Mock Turtle, poking the slumbering Arc with his rod, "but we must be going."

"May your shell never crack," said the Mock Turtle, saying an old turtle parting phrase as the three jumped across the stepping-stones and climbed up the ladder. And then they were gone, and he went back to reading in peace.

-

They climbed up until they came to the top where the tunnel they were in turned sharply forwards. Climbing out, they found themselves back in the Bizarre Room, and they were now standing on the wall opposite the one they had been earlier. Looking back, they discovered they had just climbed out of a faucet. Arc wandered over to the handle.

"Wonder if water comes out if I turn it…" he said, still half asleep.

"Of course not," said Orchid. "We just came out of there and it goes to the Turtle's home."

Despite this, and much like many of the things in Wonderland, logic had no hold. Upon turning the giant handle, water flooded sideways out of the hole, causing Orchid to jump, and down to the floor off to her left. It fell down to the picture of a vase on the floor, which popped up into three dimensions to catch the flow of water, which soon stopped. Looking to her right, Orchid could see Arc grinning widely. She just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Does it go somewhere, kupo?" asked Montblanc, walking over to the vase, which was up against the wall they stood on. He flittered up to its edge and walked a little ways in, then turned back, a quizzical look on his face.

Arc brushed past Orchid, striding purposefully over to the vase, and easily jumping in. "It's a dark hole; this is Wonderland; of course it goes somewhere."

Orchid decided not to argue this time, and just followed the other two in.

-

They came out in the Queen's Court this time. They were on top of one of the hedges near the wall. When they turned around, not only did they see there was no door, only wall, but they also lost their balance. They fell in a heap on the floor in front of the Queen, her cards, and one slightly amused Mr. Carroll.

"Did you bring what I asked?" questioned the old man as he helped Orchid up.

"Take 'em," said Arc gruffly, upending the oysters out of his coat and onto the floor in front of him. He then put his white trench coat on after taking a second to make sure it was relatively clean. Orchid handed Mr. Carroll the pot of tea, and Montblanc returned the book.

"Ah, thank you! You are most lihtmous people for doing this for me," he said, gathering up the items and walking off.

The three stood their waiting. They didn't say anything, but it soon became apparent that Mr. Carroll had no intention of doing anything other than wandering off with his gifts.

"Hey! Old man!" shouted Arc, causing Montblanc to wince. Carroll stopped, but didn't turn around. "You said you'd give us the Vorpal Blade thingy!"

There was an awkward silence. Then Carroll suddenly laughed and turned around, a wide smile on his face.

"Of course, of course," he said cheerfully, wandering back towards them. "I clear forgot."

"Liar," muttered Arc under his breath.

The old man stood in front of them, rummaging in his simple robe, then, finding what he sought, held it up to Orchid.

"A scroll?" she asked. It was a little scroll, about the size of two fingers, tied shut with a long bit of silvery string. On it, in spidery write was the word "_Jabberwocky_".

"Could you get the Keyblade, kupo?" asked Montblanc, his eyes still on the scroll. Orchid called up Bramblebite and held it out. Montblanc took the scroll, and, using the long length of string hanging off it, tied it to the little loop on the handle end of the Keyblade.

They stared as the Keyblade shuddered, then watched as a glitter of light spiraled around it from handle tip to blade tip. When it was done, Bramblebite was no longer there. The thorny circle of hand guards had been replace with a hexagon of crystal, and the thorns on of the blade had been replaced with jagged shards of translucent shimmering crystal shards jutting out of the living wood of the haft.

"Behold, the Vorpal Sword!" proclaimed Carroll. They stared at it, and Orchid gave it a few experimental swings.

"I feel…energized, somehow…" she mused as she swung it.

"Kupopo…it probably boosts your magic, kupo," said Montblanc as he ducked quickly, saving his pompom and his ears.

"So, where's the Tulgey Wood?" asked Arc, impatient for a fight.

"Over thatish away," mumbled the old man, waving his hand aimlessly towards a wall. As he did, an archway appeared, filled with dark.

"Well, let's go," said Orchid running over to the doorway. She disappeared into it, and soon, so did Montblanc and Arc.

"And hearty adventurers they be," muttered Carroll.

"I daresay I agree," replied the Cheshire Cat.

And they both left, to have oysters, tea, and a good read.


	13. In the Tulgey Wood

Quote: "It's not that I want to kill you. It's just that I have this feeling, that if I don't, someone else will. So I'm saving them the trouble. Call it my good deed for the day." –Hiroshige Hayashi.

Yeah: anyways, I'm the only one you'll ever hear that quote form, cuz I made it up. Anyway, here's the last acid, er, wonderland chapter. Well, that is until we come back mwahahahaha. Finally, find out what a Bandersnatch looks like. Or at least what a frumious one looks like. Next chapter: a frustrated Sora, an upgrade, and an enemy convention. And guess at my ramblings at the end of this chapter. And now, the fight chapter! And who is the mysterious voice?

READ AND REVIEW, FOR THE REVIEWS ARE WHAT KEEP ME WRITING INSTEAD OF PLAYING DIABLO II AND FFTA!

Facet 1: sniff you're ruining my life! I can't play my games!

Facet 2: kafwacks Facet 1 shaht up!

(personality facets)

PS: eat cliffie! And many thanks to Hislight + Aliasfan, and Tako Hanako (roughly: Octopus Flower Girl) for your support. Hnn…all my reviewers are girls…I think…droolsgets slapped ow! "Why oh why did she come from Planet V? Well I don't know-oh-oh-oh…"

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-

_She took her vorpal sword in hand:_

_Long time the manxome foe they sought –_

_So rested she by the Tumtum tree,_

_And stood awhile in thought._

"Y'know, he never did tell us what we're fighting," complained Arc as they stood underneath the strange tree.

"It's probably one of those 'you'll know it when you see it' sort of things," said Orchid, lazily swinging the Vorpal Blade.

And as in uffish thought they stood, the Bandersnatch, with coiling ends, came whiffling through the tulgey wood, shenaiging towards the friends!

"What's that?" asked Orchid, now alert and ready to fight.

"That would be the Bandersnatch," said the Cheshire Cat, lounging on a low limb of the Tumtum tree. "And it sounds quite frumious."

The cat disappeared before they could ask anything further, and they were further cut off when something came crashing through the underbrush.

"We have to fight that?" shouted Orchid, staring at it.

"Looks like it, kupo," said Montblanc, his voice touched with fear.

Arc just gritted his teeth and pushed up his shades.

The Bandersnatch was a fearsome thing. Covered in blue and green scales, it was roughly twenty feet long from blunt snout to the end of either of its two lashing tails. It was much like some large lizard, its head being a blunted triangle shovel shape, about three feet at the widest, that swung from side to side as it fixed them with its right pair of eyes, then its left, and its body being long and round, splitting into the dangerous looking tails that swung about menacingly. It was propelled low to the ground by four pairs of legs, each the size of a bent Orchid and each had three nasty looking claws on their feet. Finally deciding that the people in front of it could be eaten, it opened its mouth to them in a hissing roar, revealing row upon row of two-inch long, needle-like teeth.

"Get out of the way!" yelled Arc to a stunned Orchid, knocking her away as he did so. Montblanc jumped to the opposite side as the Bandersnatch charged forwards, just missing them. They scrambled out of the way as its scrabbling claws went rushing past until it crashed into the Tumtum tree, causing it to shake and loose a small rain of golden leaves. Seeing their opportunity, Arc and Orchid lunged at the monster, only to be batted back by one of its swinging tails.

"Cure," muttered Orchid, healing herself and Arc. She made a mental note to watch for the tails. Then she got up, and charged back at the Bandersnatch, which had turned to face them once again.

"Aero!" shouted Montblanc, who was now behind the creature. A blast of air shot from his rod to crash into the monster's back, causing it to roar in pain.

Sensing her chance, Orchid ran up and struck its head while the pain distracted it. Her blade hit true, but the Bandersnatch lunged forwards in retaliation, knocking her off her feet.

"THAT'S IT!" yelled Arc. He came crashing down on top of one of its legs, his stone fist meeting it with a sickening crack. This was met by another furious roar, followed by Arc getting his side scratched by one of the vicious sets of claws.

"Fire!" A blazing salvo rained from above: Montblanc had gone airborne to avoid the lashing tails. The Bandersnatch was wearing down.

Orchid ran forwards and began to execute a series of slashes that Eriks had taught her. The order came naturally to her from years of training, though it didn't matter since the enemy had no sword. As she finished them, the Bandersnatch shook itself violently, knocking Arc off as he broke another of its legs, and slamming Montblanc out of the air with its tails. Orchid had been knocked onto her butt by it, and when she looked up, she found herself staring into its two right eyes as it glared at her maliciously; it's body coiling with pent-up strength. It suddenly stood up on its four back legs, and blocked out the sun behind it, its mouth open and hissing like a cobra, ready to strike. That's when she saw it: the emblem of the Heartless, marked in large across its chest.

_Nip the weed in the bud; aim for the heart!_

The voice from eternity again.

"Heeyah!" she yelled, leaping up and plunging the Vorpal Blade into the middle of the crest.

_One, two! One, two! And through and through_

_The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!_

The monster threw back its head and screamed in agony, stumbling back away from her, taking the keyblade with it. She shielded her eyes as blinding light shot from the wound, then from all over the creature. It burst into inky particles, which shot out rapidly, then were siphoned back in an implosion, the speeding darkness imbedding itself in the keyblade. The Vorpal Blade hovered in the empty air for a moment, then shot back to Orchid, spinning in a circle as she called it back, and caught it deftly with her hand.

The Bandersnatch was no more.

Brushing off her blue sweatshirt, she looked around as Montblanc and Arc walked up, Arc rubbing his right arm, and Montblanc casting Cure. They all looked up into the branches of the Tumtum tree when they heard a familiar voice.

"O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" he chortled in his joy. The Cheshire Cat seemed genuinely pleased, despite the constant stone-grinding sound coming from Arc. "I thank you most graciously for the services you've rendered. Ask away."

"Kupo?" asked Montblanc.

"I'm sure you have 'many a natterly question', as Lewis put it," said the Cat. And they did.

"I've been wondering," started Orchid, "where's Alice? We seem to be done here, but we haven't even seen her. Sora met her here, so I expected we would too."

"You expect things not to change? Foolish girl," purred the cat, much to Orchid's dismay. "But it is a valid question. We've been wonder the same thing lately."

"Do you think she was taken?" asked Arc.

"Or she stopped visiting us," said the Cat. "It's not as if she lives here."

"Well, then," continued Orchid. "Could you lead us to the Bizarre Room? Preferably the floor? We need to seal the keyhole, but I think we'd get lost."

"Why do you want to go over there?" asked the Cheshire Cat, an amused look on his face. "That one's still locked. You should see what's in front of you, not what's ahead of you."

"Isn't that the same…" she started, then stopped as she looked at the Tumtum tree's trunk. In the middle of it, right in front of her was a large keyhole. Before she knew it, the keyblade had lifted itself up to point at the hole. "Huh?"

A beam of glowing light shot out from the tip of the Vorpal Sword to plunge into the keyhole. This began to glow, then faded with a click, like the sound of a lock. After that, the trunk looked like a normal tree again.

"Well, off you go!" said the Cat.

"Shouldn't we talk to Mr. Carroll?" asked Orchid as Arc and Montblanc walked off towards a clearing.

"Don't worry," said the cat as their gummi ship landed, and Orchid hurried off not to be left behind. "The author always knows what happens in his story."

-

"What a weird place," mumbled Arc, punching in a course for Traverse Town.

"Yeah," said Orchid, once more staring out into space. "It kinda reminded me of…him…"

"Who, kupo?" asked Montblanc, turning in his chair to face her.

"No one," she said vaguely.

"Just tell us," said Arc, still staring ahead, steering the ship.

"It doesn't matter."

The ship stopped as Arc cut the power. He turned his chair around, and looked at her over his yellow shades, absently brushing back the one lock of hair that constantly fell next to his face. Then he reached out and poked her with his left in the stomach, and was rewarded with an uncharacteristically girly squeak.

"Tell us."

"Nuh-uh."

Another poke, followed by another squeak.

"Come on."

"Never."

"Just tell him, kupo."

She shook her head, and was only met with more poking, which created more squeaking.

"Fine! Fine! Just quit touching!" she surrendered, waving one arm at Arc to ward him off, and using the other to try and cover her exposed stomach. "It's just that, the craziness there…it reminded me of home."

They stared at her.

"Not that my home was crazy like that," she said quickly. "But there was this magician… He used to come to town sometimes and put on shows. He always had this little tent, that when you went in, you had to turn immediately, then you were in a hallway, and after wandering through almost a whole maze, you came out in this huge circus ring. He'd put on these great shows, and at the end, all the actors would all bow, then they'd disappear. And he'd be only the only one left. I think his name was… Morpheus. Called himself the King of Dreams. He stopped coming about three years ago. I wonder where he went."

They looked at her, not saying anything as she stared out into space.

"Aw, but that doesn't matter," she said, looking back at them and smiling. "Come on Arc, tell us about you."

He just stared and raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, you can't be mister mysterious forever. Where did you live before you came to Traverse Town?"

Silence.

"She's right, kupo," supported Montblanc.

"I lived in Hollow Bastion with Yuffie, Rikku, Cloud, and those guys," he said eventually. "I moved there two years ago."

"And before that?" Orchid pried.

"Let's go," said Arc suddenly, turning his back and starting the ship up again. The rest of the journey was spent in silence.

What was he hiding?


	14. Blood and a Meeting

Wistfully: ahn…Areh? Arerereh? Oh, readers. Yeah, pit stop in Traverse Town, and a check up with anyone of importance. I'm tired, so not much to say. I still don't own the rights to Kingdom Hearts, though I own Arc, Orchid, all her keyblades (kinda), Eriks, Elias, and a slew of most of the bad guys I'm about to introduce. Anyways, it advertisement time: Nekodoshi, Hislight, Aliasfan, Tako Hana and Ravenz2008 all have interesting KH related stuff posted. Nekodoshi's is a long and extremely well-written story called Nakineiri Itami, Hislight has a poem collection, and so does her twin Aliasfan, who also has a fanfic, of which I happily await the update of. Tako Hana has My Candy Filled Adventure, A Sora Story, which is a hilarious random comedy, which unlike most random comedies, is actually really well written. Ravenz2008 has a good story, A Path to Adventure. I think I'm advertising that one since I said something about cheap advertisement when I say Hislight's review there. But it's a good story. Anyways, RR. Reviews make me happy. Next Chapter: The Preliminaries!

Wow, I ended up saying a lot anyway.

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-

"Oh, blue eyes…"

No response.

"Stonehenge."

Nothing.

"Mop-top."

Slight twitching, but no other response.

"Fine," she sighed, leaning forwards onto him and wrapping her arms around him from behind the couch. He continued to just sit there, making no response as she leaned her head on his shoulder and let her legs slide out from under herself, leaving her arms around him the only thing keeping her from sliding to the floor. "Arc."

"You can be really annoying, you know that?" he said flatly, still staring aimlessly forwards, his shades covering his eyes. Then he added, "Rikku."

"Meanie," she pouted. This elicited a small smile from Arc as he turned to face her, his sunglasses sliding down his nose to where they normally rested.

"So, did you want to talk," he asked grinning smugly, "or did you just feel like bothering me?"

"Your birthday's coming up."

"So?"

"You," she said as she got up and let go of him, "are going to be twenty!"

"So?"

This wasn't the reaction she wanted.

"We're gonna hafta throw you a party!"

"Ah. You just wanted an excuse to throw a party and wanted to warn me."

"That's not it!"

The door to the Red Room opened before they could get physically violent.

"And…Third District is clean!" yelled Yuffie as she came in, followed by Zell, Orchid, and Montblanc.

"Yeah, shouldn't need a serious sweep like that for at least a week," said Zell, rubbing his knuckles.

They settled around the room, Zell going to talk with Arc, and Rikku automatically gravitating to Yuffie. Orchid looked around as Montblanc flopped onto a couch and closed his eyes.

"I wonder where Sora is," she thought aloud, swinging Bramblebite around idly. Although the Vorpal Blade enhanced her magic, Bramblebite was stronger and she wanted that for the simple Heartless around Traverse Town.

"Him?" replied Arc. "I think he was patrolling outside, in Second District, with Cid."

"Thanks," said Orchid, and left quietly with no one noticing.

-

"Cid, where's Sora?" she asked, standing in the Second District Square. The hedgehog haired man just shook his spiky beard.

"No idea," he said, idly polishing his judge sword from where he sat on the fountain's edge. "Said he'd clear out the alleyway. When he didn't come back out here, I assumed he'd gone to the hotel."

"He's not there," she sighed.

"Huh. Hope he didn't do anything stupid," said Cid, not looking up.

"Well, thanks. I'll check the alleyway."

-

She walked into the alley. It was peaceful and quiet, rather than foreboding like it was most of the time. She took as a sign that Sora had been through and cleared out the Heartless. Getting to the end of the alley, she spotted an opening in the wall in the waterway. Curious, she ran inside, not really worrying about the gloom.

She should have. She soon found herself swimming in the cold water. She also once more found herself thanking her years spent outdoors with the boys instead of far from water with the girls. Wanting to avoid getting chilled, she quickly swam forwards towards a hole of faint light.

She came out in a faintly luminous cavern, one side dominated by a stone shore. On it stood Sora. He was staring at a wall that showed a starry night sky and hadn't noticed Orchid, even when she got out of the water.

"So, why are you here?" she asked, startling him. He turned quickly, then seeing it was her, the older boy laughed sheepishly and rubbed his head.

"Just…thinking," he replied, smiling slightly. But it was a sad smile.

"'Bout what?" Orchid asked, blue eyes full of innocent curiosity.

"Her…" he said vaguely, looking away again. They stood in silence for a while. "I just wish I could do something."

"Sora…" she started.

"I just feel so useless!" he said, frustrated. "I want to help, but I keep feeling like I'm a burden. I had defeated them before, but now…now, it's pathetic," he continued, his fists clenched tightly, spiky brown hair trembling. "I can't do anything."

"That's not true," Orchid said, trying to calm him down.

"But it is!" he yelled, turning back to her. She could see the tears welling up in his eyes. "I couldn't save her then, and I can't now! Riku was right."

He turned back away from her.

"People don't change with time. Being older just means you've had more time to make more mistakes."

His frustration spent, his legs just folded up underneath him, and he sat down roughly, his body slumping forward, head down. Orchid walked up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder causing him to look up.

"Sora, you can't give up," she said. "Hope is what connects you and Kairi. If you let go now… Just never give up. Always keep your light burning bright."

He looked up at her. And then he smiled. A real smile.

He was just getting up when it happened.

_Blood of the old harvest, given to strengthen the new._

The voice from eternity.

"Did you..?" asked Orchid.

"Yeah…" Sora murmured.

"What did it mean?" Orchid wondered aloud. Before, she always knew what it meant, but this time it was just senseless words.

Sora held out his right hand, and there was a shimmering light. In his hand, Bramblebite appeared, much to Orchid's surprise. Then, as if in a daze, he took the glove off of his other hand and ran his hand over the curved back thorns at the end of the keyblade. A long, red cut opened on his hand, and the blood dripped down the twisted rivulets formed by the dried brown branches that made up the haft as he held the end of it.

"What are you-" she started, but was cut off suddenly.

A light shone from within the blade. It grew until it engulfed the whole cavern, blinding Orchid, then faded. When she looked, Sora was standing there, holding the keyblade. But it wasn't Bramblebite anymore. The haft was now a vitalized green, and two curving, thin leaves had replaced the thorny hand guard. A three-sectioned leaf had replaced the thorn blade. The keyblade pulsed with vibrant life.

"Vineguard," she breathed softly as he handed her the blade. They stood there for a moment, then the spell of it all wore off.

"Ow!" Sora exclaimed, waving around his bleeding hand. Orchid quickly grabbed the flailing limb and used Cure on it, sealing the cut. "Why did I do all that?"

"Because it seemed like it needed to happen?" asked Orchid as he retrieved his glove and put it back on. She carefully ran her hand over the leaves that had become the blade, and was surprised to find they were sturdy and razor sharp too.

"Yeah," he said turning back to her. He smiled his regular, wide, open grin. "Anyways, thanks for talking to me. You're right."

"Anytime," said Orchid. "Let's go back to the Hotel, before anyone starts to worry."

"Yeah, they tend to do that, huh?" laughed Sora. They both smiled and walked off.

-

The figures gathered around the table, the gloom obscuring their faces, so that only their silhouettes and most prominent features could be seen.

"Ah, it's good be back in the old fortress of doom," said a highly dramatized and sarcastic voice. It belonged to a tall person, slightly illuminated by the blue flames on his head that substituted for hair. His glaring yellow eyes roved lazily around the hall as he stood around in his black toga.

"How can you be so jovial when you're the only one of your peers who's still alive to say that?" asked another voice, this one silky and refined. It belonged to a gaunt and elegant form, with long white hair barely illuminated in the faint light.

"Because he's," said another voice, this one higher and more wheedling, as its thin yet tightly muscled owner disappeared, "happy to be just that," the figure finished as it reappeared on top of a large mass.

"…" was the uttered silence from what he stood on. The monstrous hulk reached up, only to find the one atop him had gone to the far side of the table again.

"Enough of your tricks," growled another figure. This one was a heavily built man, his long hair sticking straight back wildly. He wore almost a whole bear, sans anything beneath its hide, and wielded a large wooden mace. He appeared to be the second largest of the five there, the largest being the hulking, ape-like figure that had so far made no comments. The next was the figure with the blue flames, followed by the cackling figure that had been reprimanded. Lastly was the graceful figure with white hair.

The madly annoying man was about to make a retort when a door opened. They all turned to see a black clothed figure enter. He wore half a mask.

"Master Elias," uttered the druidic man with the mace.

"My lord," said the white haired man softly.

"Oh, that shmuck," was all that came from the one wreathed in blue flame.

"I see you have all arrived," said Elias. "It disappoints me that the Bandersnatch in Wonderland fell. I leave it to you, my officers, to succeed where it failed."

They were quiet at the ominous implied threat in what he said. They did not dare to fail.

"How goes your apprenticeship, my lord?" asked the mace-armed figure.

"It goes well. He learns quickly," replied Elias. He turned to the white haired figure. "And how goes the turning of the other two?"

No emotion passed over the pale face. "They still resist. They are wasting precious time."

"We have all the time in the world," assured Elias. "And when they do turn, they shall be worth every second and more." He turned to the figure in blue flames. "They head towards your world of origin, O Lord of the Dead. Dispose of them."

"Sure thing, boss," he said, pointing his index fingers at Elias, thumbs extended.

"I have other matters to attend to. You are dismissed."

And with that, Elias walked back through the door he had entered in. The cackling figure danced and pirouetted randomly down a hallway, followed by the hulking sapient figure. The flaming figure glided down another hallway, as the bear-clothed man strode down ahead of him. The white haired figure left last, followed by the sound of clicking gears. Hollow Bastion was occupied once more.

-

It wasn't real physical pain. He knew this because, if it was, he would've become numb to it long before. In a way, he had been numbed by it. He couldn't remember a time without the pain.

_Give in._

One thing he hadn't forgotten was this: that he would never do that. Never. Never.

He repeated this to himself, even as he screamed. And for a moment, he doubted.

For a moment, Riku almost lost hope.

-

Empty.

He was lost. It was as if he had spent whole lifetimes wandering. He had wandered here, with no light, no dark, no cold, no heat. No feeling. Even pain would be welcome now. Anything to prove to him that he really existed.

_Give in._

That was all there was. It gave him purpose; his purpose was to resist it. But when you have nothing, almost anything seems good.

Leon had become like his home: Hollow


	15. An Old Friend, a New Opponent

FIGHT: Thasrigh, it's Coliseum time! Are they going to see Cloud? Well, it's someone with blonde hair anyway. So, did you like my villains? I hoped you recognized one of them. If you didn't, he's in this chapter. The others…are OCs, so you shouldn't recognize any…though one, and his world, is highly based on something that has nothing to do with KH, so if by some weird coincidence, you read the same stuff as me, you might recognize him…not likely though. (ashamed) I couldn't remember Phil's full name! Oh well, not that anyone cares. Anyways, read and review, my loyal fans! It makes me happy. (and I apologize about my choice of places to leave off at…but it was the right length, and was an okay spot, so….)

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"So, this is the next place?"

They looked around. They stood in the doorway into a large entry ground, surrounded by huge pillars. The ground was sandy yellow dirt, and across from them stood a large stone structure, highlighted by two enormous golden statues of gladiators doing battle. Orchid, Montblanc, and Arc now stood in the Olympus Coliseum.

"Kupopo…" said Montblanc, "I think so…the map had a two by it right? So it should be the next world…"

They walked down, across the open area, and up to the doors under the titanic statues. After a slight pause to look at each other, they pushed open the door and walked in.

Inside, there was a small, fat, goat-legged man with matching horns bustling around busily.

"Hey, Herc," he shouted, not even turning around. "Where have you been? We hafta get ready for the preliminaries and this place is still a …"

He stopped when he turned to see the trio standing in the doorway. He stared for a moment, and Orchid waved cheerfully at him. Grunting, the satyr jumped down from the box he was standing on to walk over to them and stare with a scrutinizing glare.

"What do you runts want?" he asked gruffly. There was the familiar sound of grinding stone, though now it was more of contained rage than of restlessness.

"Runts?" Arc said slowly, eyes glinting dangerously.

"Okay, so two runts and one ignoramus," admitted the goat man grudgingly.

"Ignoramus?" continued Arc, the sounds of his hand beginning to mimic the start of an avalanche.

Sensing the impending disaster, Montblanc interceded quickly.

"Kupo, we wanted to know about what's going on here," he interrupted.

"Oh, it's just a tournament that's going to be held," said the satyr, going back to polishing and cleaning. "The preliminaries are today."

He turned to see the eager look in the trio's eyes. He immediately decided that he didn't want any runty hero wanna-be's running around.

"That part's not for spectators, so you guy's should come back later."

This pushed Arc too far.

"That's it, old man!" he said, struggling against Orchid and Montblanc, who had a grabbed an arm and a leg respectively. "I'm just going to use you for my punching bag now, then I'm going to punt your furry butt to god-knows-what world, and then I'm going to kick the tar out of every little crap in the preliminaries, and then, then I'm going to drag you back here and-"

He was interrupted by a loud and confident voice that practically bulged with muscles by itself.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said the newcomer. "I think both of you need to calm down and put down your fists," he said as he picked up the now flaming red satyr, who was gnashing his teeth and waving his arms, and was also now waving his legs in a futile effort to get at Arc. "Phil, calm down."

"Herc, didn't you hear what he sai-" started the fuming Phil, stopping his flailing momentarily to yell at the man.

"I heard, I heard," interrupted the man. He was tall, had brownish blonde hair, stunningly blue eyes, almost golden skin, and more muscles than anyone could possibly know what to do with. He wore leather armor, sandals, and a headband. He was the embodiment godly perfection to the point of almost looking fake; Orchid was almost afraid to touch him lest he fell down like a cardboard cut out. "And I expect you had been telling these 'runts' that they couldn't enter the tournament."

"This is fighting, not babysitting!" yelled Phil.

"What about Sora? Huh, Phil?" said the man like he was holding discriminating evidence in the satyr's face.

"Well he, was, well, the master of the keyblade, so he's a bad example," stuttered Phil, starting to lose fuel for his rage.

Orchid decided to take this chance to bring out Vineguard. She held out her right hand, concentrated, and the leafy green weapon appeared in it. Though it was very different from any of Sora's keyblades in many ways, it was unmistakably a keyblade, a fact that not even Phil could overlook, and apparently hadn't, if anything could be judged by how far his jaw had dropped.

"My name's Hercules," the robust man said, making introductions and extending a hand. "And the angry goat is called Phil."

"And I'm Orchid," said the blonde girl, taking the hand and shaking it. She winced as he shook back vigorously and almost crushed her hand. "The man in the white trench coat is Arc, and the moogle is Montblanc."

Introductions were exchanged, and Arc and Phil even got calmed down enough to shake each other's hands without trying to break them; Arc was actually gracious enough to use his left, though that caused slight confusion at first.

"So, you want to be in the tournament?" asked Phil, now sounding a little less condescending. The trio merely nodded. "Fine. Just don't come crying to me when you get hurt."

"You'll have to compete in the preliminaries today though, to see if you even qualify to participate in the tournament," said Hercules.

"Bring it on," said Arc eagerly, rubbing his stone fist in anticipation.

"Have all the groups arrived?" Phil asked the Olympian hero.

"Yeah, that's why I came over here in the first place," he replied.

"Then follow me," said the satyr as he motioned to the trio of friends and walked through a doorway, taking down a rope that had been hanging across it.

They stepped out into a large, open stadium. It was rectangular, having rows of seats on either side, and a large, ominous gate on the opposite wall. In the middle of the sandy arena was a large, tiled square, which Orchid assumed to be the fighting area.

"Hey, where's the 9th seed?" yelled Phil. Then he muttered, "Jeez, got some more of those weird freaks, and now they're late too."

"Is that…them?" asked Orchid, pointing. All too familiar pools of darkness were scrambling around on the arena floor.

"Oh yeah," said Phil. "Damn freaks. Anyways, get out there and fight!"

He pushed Orchid and Montblanc out onto the tiles; Arc had already walked over. Once they were in the arena, shimmering barriers of magic shot up and prevented any escape.

"If you die, are knocked unconscious, forfeit, or leave the arena for any reason, if you somehow manage to get out of the barrier, you lose!" shouted Phil, now a safe distance from the fighting area.

"Arc, what have you gotten us into?" asked Orchid, gripping Vineguard tightly with both hands as the pools of darkness became Heartless.

-

"Is that them?" asked the boy, giving a quick nod of his head towards the arena, where Orchid and her friends were currently fighting a battalion of heartless mages. He was a little taller than Orchid, and also had blond hair. His was mostly about jawbone length, with three exceptions; his bangs were short and only reached his eyebrows, and he had a long lock that defied gravity by curving off into the air from the top of his head, plus a longer lock that stuck out the back like strange ponytail. He wore a dark blue sweatshirt and red shorts, along with dark brown and white boots; these all had armor sewn into them or strapped over them. He had two large belts; off one hung a case carrying several large cards. The most interesting thing was the giant rose quartz colored blade that he carried, all circles and strange design; it was a judge sword, almost identical to Cid's and almost as tall as the boy including the handle.

"Yes that's them," said a figure standing in the shadows, his blue flame hair blazing brightly. Both were behind the bars of the monstrous gateway Orchid had seen earlier. "I need you to beat them. It's just like a, what ever you called it, an engagement, yeah…just like an engagement."

"What are today's laws?" asked the boy.

"Anything…Goes," said Hades slowly, his fires burning red.

-

"So the green ones cast Cure," started Orchid, quickly drinking a potion between matches, "and the yellow ones cast Thunder?"

"Right," replied Montblanc. "And the light blue ones cast Water, kupo."

"So, Water against the yellow, and Thunder against the light blue?"

"And anything against the green."

"I wonder who our next opponent is?" asked Arc, looking around. So far, no shadows had appeared, which was strange, since the Heartless seemed to appear almost immediately after the previous battle finished.

"Is that him?" asked Orchid, pointing to one of the entryways.

The blond boy walked out, carrying the enormous judge blade easily under his right arm, one hand holding it up, and the other resting lightly on the handle, balancing the whole thing. His head was lowered, and he was still too far away to make out any details.

"He looks…" trailed off Arc, not really sure what to make of him.

"Familiar," finished Montblanc, straining his little eyes to see who it was.

"Cute," finished Orchid distantly, not hearing Montblanc. She wondered what his name was. She didn't have to wonder long; Phil's loud voice cut in when the boy was almost halfway to the arena, reading off the match.

"And the 1st seed is," started Phil, looking down at his list, "Marche Radiuju!"

Montblanc stood upright in surprise. While the other two stared at him, the blond boy stepped into the arena nonchalantly, then was struck with the same look of surprise.

"Hey, I never expected to be on the opposite side of an engagement with you, Montblanc," he said cheerfully, his surprise wearing off.

"Marche, kupo!" exclaimed Montblanc. "Where have you been?"

"It' a long story," started Marche, turquoise eyes smiling, "but in a nutshell, after we got separated, I ended up here. Then some guy approached me with a mission, and with nothing better to do, I took it. So here I am. Didn't know I'd be fighting you."

"I didn't know I'd be fighting you either, kupo," exclaimed the moogle.

"Friend of yours?" asked Arc.

"Yeah, me and Montblanc go way back," Marche answered for his friend. Then to Montblanc, "No hard feelings, right?"

"Of course not, kupo," replied Montblanc.

"I'm not going to go easy on you," said Marche, swinging his judge sword out so that he held it ready in front of him.

"I wouldn't want you to," said Montblanc, taking out his rod and stepping back, putting Arc and Orchid between him and the fighter.

Orchid and Marche looked each other in the eyes; both had the initial reaction of reluctance to fight a child, immediately followed by slight embarrassment as they realized they were about the same age.

"Aaaaaand…FIGHT!" shouted Phil.

And the battle was on.


	16. Judge Sword vs Vineguard

SUGOI: oh yah, fight scene wa kakkoii desne? Y'damn Skippy! This fight scene could be confusing…but it's really, really cool. 'Specially when it gets to a duel… yeah… I'm kind of tired… But I'm happy, cuz I now have solidified most of all my plot twists and theologies. And I have all of (bear man's) powers written out, and all of (thin dude with white hair)'s henchmen written out…Though Adonis still has a lot of plot that's floating around…and Katie hasn't talked to me…I missed her when I took a shower, and she hasn't been on since….Anyway, RR. FFTA fans, Marche is SO a Paladin/Fighter.

* * *

Marche ran forwards and swung widely with his judge sword, forcing Orchid and Arc to jump back. While he was recovering from the lunge, Orchid took advantage and struck out with Vinegaurd. It connected with Marche's side, but she suddenly had the wind knocked out of her before she could relish drawing first blood. She went flying sideways, skidding to a halt behind Marche.

"How-" started Orchid, getting her breath back and standing.

"-can he swing it so fast, just now?" finished Arc, a new sense of caution instilling itself in him, his eyes nervous behind his yellow lenses. He backed away, giving the boy room, but also giving him time to ready his sword again.

"Counter," said Montblanc, his grip tightening on his rod. "It's a reaction ability that lets him almost instantaneously counterattack if anyone hits him and is within range of him. You're going to have to be very careful when you choose to attack him."

"Yeah," said the boy, his eyes darting from Montblanc, to Arc, to Orchid, then back to the moogle again. "I don't know how judges manage…this sword is heavy; I almost pulled my arm out of its socket, swinging that fast…"

Orchid didn't like what this meant; he had only hit her with one hand. She really didn't want to know what would happen if she took a two handed strike head on. Arc on the other hand, wasn't affected by the same fear.

"Then I'll just have to pound him hard enough so he can't fight back!" he yelled, bringing back his giant stone hand and swinging a punch at Marche. The boy managed to bring up his sword just in time to block. The blow pushed him backwards anyway, but he managed to stay on his feet.

"Fire!" yelled Montblanc and Orchid at the same time. Two fireballs came hurling at Marche from opposite sides, and he took both of them full on. Recovering from the blows, he turned quickly and threw a punch at Orchid, despite her obviously being out of his reach.

"Air Render!" he yelled. Immediately after, more than just comprehension hit Orchid, as she felt some unseen force slam into her gut, as if he really had been close enough to punch her. She staggered back, and when she looked, she saw the boy easily holding his own against Arc, and only earning minor wounds from Montblanc's magic.

"Orchid, get behind him!" yelled Arc, as he batted Marche's judge sword back with his giant stone hand. Orchid nodded, then ran behind the boy. He might be able to take a fireball, but there was no way he could take pummeling from melee attacks on both sides. As soon as she was behind Marche, Arc signaled, and they both struck at the boy from front and back.

There was a loud clang as they struck. But when they looked, Marche had ducked and held the judge blade over him, blocking both attacks; one hand held the handle, the other was pressed against the flat of the blade, giving it the support it needed to hold off the double strike.

"Saint Cross!" yelled Marche loudly. He sprung up with a burst of energy, throwing both of his attackers back and off balance. Before either Arc or Orchid could recover, there was a blinding light, and they were slammed into by the blast of holy magic. Arc was sent sprawling, and Orchid had shot back head over heels. Marche walked forwards to confront Arc, but was interrupted.

"Blizzard!" yelled Montblanc, showering Marche in a blast of ice shards, also slowing him with the frigid cold. The boy winced at the cuts inflicted, but only redoubled his efforts in an attempt to reach Arc and get his muscles warmed up again. Unfortunately for him, Montblanc's attack had given Arc enough time to get up again.

"Cure," said Orchid between clenched teeth, getting up slowly and holding her right arm, which was aching fiercely. As the shining light descended, the ache lessened, but didn't altogether disappear. Not caring, since it didn't inhibit her sword arm anymore, she ignored it and ran forwards, hoping to catch Marche unaware. As she ran to him, he was driving Arc, who was just barely managing to parry all the blows, back and was taking many hits from Montblanc, but holding up. By the time Orchid had almost reached him, he had cornered the stone fisted man; things weren't looking good for Arc.

"Beatdown!" shouted Marche. A shimmer of flames shot from his feet to his head, then he struck savagely at Arc. Arc tried to block, but his hand was knocked out of the way like a toy, and he was struck at full force in a powerful blast, as if he hadn't even resisted. He was slammed and pressed against the magic barrier, the uncomfortable pressure of it forgotten as he lost consciousness and fell to the floor.

"So, brute force won't work," said Orchid, as Marche turned to face her. "Well, Eriks did teach me a few tricks…"

"Come on, sword to sword," challenged Marche, wiping away some blood at the corner of his mouth, then bringing his huge crystalline sword into ready again.

"Montblanc, stay back and save your magic for healing," Orchid addressed the moogle. Then she added grimly, "I'm going to need it."

Marche took the initiative and charged forwards, as Orchid expected. She dodged to the side and struck at his back as he went past, knocking him down onto one hand. The other hand held the judge sword, and had instinctively counter attacked, slamming into Orchid before she could react. Orchid was sent falling away form him once more, but the force of swinging the heavy blade had sent Marche to the tiles too. For a moment, they both just lay there on their stomachs, glaring at each other upside down as their heads hung down, each weakly propping themselves up slightly with one arm. For almost a whole minute, they just lay there, staring at each other. Then as if by some unseen signal, in unison, they both pushed themselves up as fast as they could, then spun around to face each other, judge sword and keyblade ready. Orchid seemed worse off, until Montblanc cast Cure on her. Knowing that his opponent was ready, Marche walked forwards carefully, ready to reengage in combat.

He let Orchid make the first move this time. That was a mistake. She made a strike that she had done many times before with Eriks, and he had done to her even more times. As she predicted, Marche blocked it. She followed with the next strike, which he also blocked. Soon, she was caught up in the flow of the familiar combo of blows and counter blows, to which she knew only two endings; Marche would have to stop it by taking one of the less fatal hits now, or it would be checkmate. She was on the final five maneuvers of the attack, and he had passed the point of no return. She had this match won. Or so she thought.

She hadn't counted on the weight of the judge blade. Marche had noticed this, and took advantage when she had made a strike from above, and he had blocked with a downward swing. The blades locked momentarily, then using the judge sword's enormous mass to his advantage, he slammed down with all his strength, preventing Orchid from making another quick strike and setting both of them slightly off balance. In that instant, both of them shifted their feet to catch themselves, and swung with all their might at the enemy.

Phil couldn't believe the outcome. Neither could Montblanc. Hercules merely grinned. There was total silence, only broken by the sound of heavy breathing.

"Are you going to ask for mercy?" said Marche, his eyes wide and his mouth breaking into a widening smile.

"I was going to ask you that," replied Orchid, her eyes just as crazed with the rushing adrenaline, which was just now starting to leave her, and grinning just as wide.

-

"Well, I guess the little punk was useless after all," muttered Hades, turning away from the scene. "Oh, well. I did tell him the rules."

He walked off into the darkness, and snapped his fingers. There was a low, rumbling growl as something enormous stood up in the darkness. Six glowing red eyes looked out hungrily at the sight before them. A grating, scraping noise of metal on metal filled the arena as the bars of the gate began to shudder, then move.

"Anything goes."

-

They stood there; blades stayed a mere hairsbreadth away from the other's neck. Grinning like maniacs, if anyone tried anything, they would each take the other out. Almost anyone.

The giant black paw slammed down on top of Marche, almost crushing him under it. Everyone looked up in surprise into the three snarling heads of Cerberus, the Gatekeeper of the Underworld. The enormous, black, three-headed dog let off an ferocious triple howl, then struck down to snap up Orchid in its giant jaws. Orchid could only yell and close her eyes, waiting to feel the tear of the vicious teeth.

It didn't come. When she opened her eyes, Hercules was there, holding back the dog's onslaught. Giving a burst of energy, he shoved the dog back, and ran forwards to wrestle with the titanic leg that was pinning the knocked out Marche down.

"Get out of here!" he yelled as he did his best to wrap his arms around the tree trunk sized limb.

"But, we can help!" Orchid shouted back. She felt someone kick her leg and pull on her sleeve urgently, almost pulling it off.

"I got two words for you, kid: RUN!" screamed Phil. At this, Orchid turned and ran, but not before dragging the now semiconscious Arc out with Montblanc's help. Not daring to look back, the four of them ran through the door and twisting hallways until they were back in the entry room.

They waited around as Phil handed out potions and ethers, to restore their health and magic. With the help of these items, they were soon feeling better; even Arc was ready to fight. Nodding to each other, they walked off towards the door they had come from.

"Hey, kid, where you going?" bleated Phil, staring at them from where he had been pacing.

"Going to fight that monster," replied Orchid, not even turning.

"Hercules has got it covered, okay?" Phil shot back, continuing his pacing.

"Well he would have been back by now if he wasn't in trouble, right?" reasoned Arc, pushing up his tinted shades again. Phil could only grumble.

"Then let's go, kupo!" said Montblanc, walking through the doorway after Orchid, who hadn't even stopped to listen to Phil. Arc stood there for a moment, staring at the satyr, as if daring him to stop them. Phil looked away and went back to pacing, and Arc left without another word.

They came out again in the brightly lit arena to find Hercules still battling with the giant triple headed dog, the unconscious form of Marche slung over his shoulder. When he saw them, he turned and made a run for it towards the door.

"I'll take this guy, you guys get Cerberus," Hercules told them as he passed the trio. Not stopping, he ran across the grounds and into the doorway with his weighty burden.

They looked at the towering form of Hades' hellhound. One of the colossal dog's heads had just spotted them, and the other two soon followed and the whole body began crashing towards them in slow, deliberate footsteps.

"Let's get him," said Orchid. Arc grinned at this, and Montblanc began to wave his rod around. Cerberus roared in response, and the fight had begun.


	17. Spellweaver and a Moonlight Rave

Cruelty: Thasrigh, you don't get to see the fight. Oh well. Don't have much to say. Just want to warn you that the guy they talk about at the end is NOT SORA. He's someone you won't know about until much later. You don't even get his name until…two…and a half worlds later. So, it's NOT SORA…NOR IS IT CLOUD…NOR SEPHIROTH…NOR POOH…. Now I'm just being crazy… RR!  
-

-

"I hereby declare you junior heroes," said Phil grudgingly, standing on top of a box to be at eye level with the three. They were all grinning widely, despite the struggle they had just finished, and at this pronouncement, they all cheered.

"I told you they weren't runts," said Hercules to the goat legged man, eliciting several grumbles from him.

"Man, that was great!" said Orchid as they walked out.

"Yeah, you were bringing out some cool moves there, little bud," commented Arc, smiling happily.

"And you learned that new spell too, kupo," added Montblanc.

"Oh yeah, Thunder," answered Orchid, swinging Vinegaurd around idly.

"I need to give you something," said Montblanc as they walked out of hearing of the hero and the satyr.

"I can't believe that kid pulled it off," sighed Phil. "I mean, Cerberus…"

"Well," said Hercules, winking at the deflated little man, "actually, I wore down Cerberus quite a bit, so they were just finishing him off."

Phil perked up at this. "Really? So I guess they aren't that amazing. Didn't you do that when Sora came here the first time too?"

Hercules nodded.

"But then…he beat Cerberus later, without any help. Do you think they'll do that too?" asked the goat man uncertainly.

"I know they will," said Hercules, flashing a bright smile.

Outside, the three were walking down the stairs when they heard voice shout behind them. They turned and saw Marche.

"Hey, wait up!" he said, catching up with them and panting slightly.

"Hey, Marche," said Orchid, eyebrows raised in slight amusement at the partially flushed boy. He finally got his breath back and started to speak.

"That was a great match back there," he said, his voice slightly trailing off.

"Thanks," replied Orchid, wondering where he was going with this.

"I just wanted you to have this," he said, holding out a hand. In it was what appeared to be a ball of flashing lights and sparks, silvery white. His blue eyes eagerly awaited her answer.

"What is it?" she asked, taking it gingerly from his hand with both of hers. It felt like it was ready to burst into a thousand shooting stars.

"A special combo," he said, grinning. "It will help you fight even better."

Assuming it was like magic, Orchid brought the sphere of energy close to her and gently pushed it into her chest, where it slipped through her sweatshirt and into her very being easily.

Something felt strange. Almost as if every cell in her body was scrambling to move. But there was an order to the chaos. A sort of rhythm, a beat.

"What's happening?" she asked, feeling caught up in the exhilarating rush of energy.

"It's called-" started Marche, but then she disappeared in a blur of motion.

Orchid reappeared a little distance away, stopping briefly, her figure flowing gracefully, keyblade held beautifully. Then she was gone again, only to reappear in a rush of wind behind the other three.

"-Moonlight-" continued Marche, now smiling from ear to ear as she blurred and was gone again. He watched as the flames in one of the braziers that were around the area went out, struck out by a sonic strike. Orchid reappeared in another graceful step behind it. "- Rave," he finished.

Orchid had never experienced anything like it. There would be a burst of speed, in which all the world blurred around her, and all the only things that were real were her, and the enemy. Then it would be over, and she would have completed that step of the dance, and turn, suddenly slowed; for a moment, everything would echo with amazing clarity. Then she would take the next step, and the world would blur again. All the while, she could feel a great energy growing inside her.

"Here it comes," said Marche, turquoise eyes bright. They watched as Orchid disappeared to their right, then it happened. A giant explosion of silvery light burst in front of them, and Orchid came sliding out to their left. "The finale."

Orchid was breathing hard, but more from the exhilaration than the effort. All she could think was that it was simply amazing.

"So, where are you going now, kupo?" asked Montblanc, looking up at his old friend, antenna pompom bobbing with curiosity.

"I dunno," replied Marche, turning to stare into the blue sky above. "I'll probably leave here. Train for our next battle, do a few missions, whatever…"

He paused here, and for a while, no one said anything.

"And see if I can find them."

"Who?" asked Orchid, brushing back some of her blonde hair with one gloved hand.

"My brother…and Mewt, I guess…"

"Cid would be glad if you found him," inserted Montblanc.

"And her…"

And then he left, judge blade shining slightly from where it hung on his back. He went through the gates and left that world.

"Probably has his own ship," murmured Arc. Then more loudly, "So let's go, we're finished here."

"One second," said Orchid quickly, running back up the stairs. The man and the moogle turned to see what she was doing, then they spotted it. There was a big keyhole in the middle of the double doors that led into the coliseum, like the one they had seen in Wonderland.

Orchid raised Vineguard to point at it, and a beam of light shone from it, striking in the keyhole. There was a click, and then the keyhole was gone. Another world had been sealed. As she turned and walked back down, Montblanc remembered something, and reached into his little green jacket.

"Could you hand me the scroll?" asked the moogle when Orchid had gotten to them; he was still rummaging around through various pockets.

"What scroll?" asked Orchid, bewildered.

"The one for the Vorpal Blade," replied Montlanc, letting out a little kupo as his furry white hand closed in on what he was looking for.

Orchid gave him the miniature scroll, then watched as he pulled out a little red book on a chain that was just as small as the scroll. He unrolled the scroll, then flattened it out. He opened the little book and placed the scroll in as the first page, then closed it again. There was a light, and then the book just stood there, but now it was blue. He handed it to Orchid.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked, looking at the tiny book in her hand.

"Merlin told me to give this to you when you had mastered the four basic elements and the basic heal. It's a key chain for the keyblade," answered Montblanc.

After hearing this, Orchid took the little clasp at the end of the chain and hooked it onto the little loop at the end of the handle of Vineguard. The keyblade shimmered, then there was a bright light. When it cleared, the keyblade had changed again.

In place of leaf blade was a spiraling vine, flecked with crystalline sparks in it, and a small leaf sprouting of the haft. The haft was still the twisting green vine, though now it occasionally sparkled with the light. The hand guards were now made of two glittering stems instead of the long thin leaves that had been there before on Vineguard, or the crystal hexagon of the Vorpal Blade. Orchid could feel the magic pulse through her body from it, and could hear it whisper its knowledge to her.

"What is it?" asked Arc.

"Spellweaver," she answered simply, still staring at the blade. She turned suddenly to one of the still flaming braziers, and pointed the new keyblade at it, saying only one word. "Demi."

The bronze cauldron of fire was engulfed in a sphere of darkness, which flattened out, crushing the fire within it. Then it disappeared, leaving a flame only a fraction of the size. She had obtained the power of gravity and time.

"Kupopopo…" murmured a stunned Montblanc. "So the keyblade gives you time magic, kupo?"

Orchid could only stare at the keyblade and the new powers it gave her.

"Well, you gonna stand there all day, or are we going?" interrupted Arc, already heading for the gates. With that, the moment was gone, and the girl and the moogle hurried off after him.

-

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't count on the big guy interfering, it was supposed to be 'beat her up then use for dog chow', 'kay? I'll get 'em at the tournaments, the old goat's always throwin' those."

Hades' pleading fell on uncaring ears. The Master had no time for weaklings; so neither did Elias. He leisurely snapped his fingers, and a figure walked out of the shadows.

"What is your will, my lord?" said the boy. He wore his now customary black leather jacket and black shirt; every step he took caused him to jangle ominously with the various belts, straps, and catches that were on his black pants. Midnight boots fell heavily against the tile, breaking up the silence that had taken hold when Hades had stopped at the boy's words. His eyes looked to the gaunt, elegant figure in black next to him.

"This…thing in front of me is useless. Get rid of it," said Elias indifferently. He turned on his heel, then began to walk slowly out.

"Hey, wait a second, I can make up for this, honest! Just give me a chance!" whined the Lord of the Underworld piteously. He stopped as he saw the youth move towards him.

"You should have died with that fool Ansem and his other minions," was the last thing Elias ever said to Hades.

The boy drew his sword. Its blade shone brightly even in the dim light, a brilliant alabaster color, its golden cross guard bent slightly towards the blade, which had _Excalibur_ written in perfect scrawl down it's length. He raised it up with his right, his left pressed against the flat of the blade as he pointed it towards the figure in the black toga, the sword parallel with the ground, his head lowered slightly, obscuring his face with his mess of black hair.

"Blessed Blade," he said coldly. There was a flash of light, then behind him, the entity once known as Hades disintegrated into nothing.

Done with his master's bidding, Eriks left.

-

"We've found him," reported the man, his long white hair flowing gracefully.

"Good. Now it's just a matter of capturing him," said Elias. He stared intently at the figure displayed before him. "Almost ironic that you should find him."

"Almost ironic of who he'll be turned against," was the only reply.


	18. Crashing and Falling

Hmmm: yeah, Deep jungle wasn't a world I was looking forwards to writing… but here we are… the planning requires it… oh well, we introduce the third keyblade type in this world… the first being natural (bramblebite, vineguard) and the second being magic (vorpal blade, spellweaver). And we get to fight one of MY villains… hee… Also, our first summon gem is here… don't you wonder what it'll be? Ah, and only this world and a trip back to Traverse, and then to the world were you learn last chapter's mysterious man's name… but I'm getting ahead of myself. Witness more of Arc's wry humor, and RR (sorry for the shortie cliffie)

PS: it's funny to have review alert, because whenever I see two reviews in a row, I can be fairly sure it's HisLight and Aliasfan… hee.

* * *

-

"The map has a three by this world! Look!"

"I don't care what the stupid map says, I still don't think there is going to be anything useful in a jungle like that!"

Montblanc sighed. Orchid and Arc were arguing again. This time, it was over whether to land on the world displayed before them in front of the gummi ship. The large, green planet was entirely dominated by thick, lush jungle.

"Do you really think there are people down there?" said Arc hotly.

"What does that have to do with anything?" shot back Orchid.

"No hearts, no Heartless," he replied, knitting his eyebrows in annoyance.

"Are you saying animals don't have hearts?" asked Orchid, knowing she caught him.

"I'm saying, Heartless don't bother with crap like this place," countered Arc, swinging his right hand. Suddenly, there was an annoying, alarm-like sound and a small red light went off on the control panel.

"That was your fault," she said flatly.

"That was not my fault," he claimed, pushing Orchid back. More alarms and lights went off.

"Kupopopo… I get this strange feeling…" muttered Montblanc, trying not to get involved.

"That was SO your fault!" exclaimed Orchid, pulling herself back into her chair.

"NO, IT WAS NOT!" shouted Arc.

"…that this has happened before…" continued the moogle.

"Don't press that!"

"What, it's not like you know what to do!"

"Kupo! Sora's story!" exclaimed Montblanc.

At this, the other two stopped to look at him. And then they thought about it. Realization dawned, realization that it was too late to fix anything.

"Does that mean we're going to crash?" asked Orchid timidly among the alarms and lights going off.

"Probably," replied Arc nonchalantly, noticing that they were, in fact, starting to move towards the world ahead of them.

"Are we going to die?"

"Could be."

"Well, aren't you just the little ray of sunshine."

-

Orchid rubbed her head, which was aching a little. She looked around, noting her surroundings. She appeared to be in some sort of rundown house, with broken windows, open doors, and a lot of overgrown vines and plants everywhere. The thing that got her the most was the veritable wall of humidity. It seemed like the kind of air moisture that reached out and strangled you. And it seemed like the kind of place where, if the air didn't, something else would. Or at least try something malicious in nature.

And something did.

Before she knew it, a large jaguar was leaping at her, fangs and claws bared. She closed her eyes, unable to bear watching it strike her, waiting for the pain. It never came.

"You…all right?" came the rough question, in a somewhat grunting voice. When Orchid opened her eyes, she saw a moderately large, hunched over man in a plain brown loincloth, fending off the jaguar with a crude spear. He pushed the jaguar back with one mighty heave, and it ran off, out the door of the ramshackle building.

"Sabor… is danger…" the strange man said. As Orchid stood up, she noticed that he didn't straighten out, instead staying in his hunched over posture, knuckles close to dragging on the ground. Orchid could feel her back crick just looking at him.

"Who are you?" asked Orchid, looking at the man's somewhat long face through his mess of dreadlocks. At the question, the man merely cocked his head to one side, obviously not understanding. She tried again. "What. Is. Your. Name?"

"Name," said the man. He pointed to himself, and then said, "Tarzan." He pointed to the girl. "You?"

"Orchid," she replied, pointing to herself.

"You, Orchid," repeated the man, apparently called Tarzan, pointing to her. She nodded in confirmation. "We go… camp, see Jane."

With this, the man loped out of the house, stopping only momentarily beyond the doorway to look back and see if she was coming. Seeing no one else around, Orchid decided to follow this apparently friendly man and went out side to where he was hunched. She was stunned by the view outside.

The tree house, as it turned out to be, was high above the jungle, with a boat hanging from a large beam, a deck around it, and some netting around the area not taken up by the steps down the tree's trunk. The whole thing was completely clear of the trees around, and Orchid could see for miles, watching as distant flocks of exotic birds took flight. She watched as Tarzan jumped from the deck they were on to the netting below. He motioned for her to jump, and she did, falling onto her behind as the net jiggled and jumped under her impact.

"Now what?" she asked, looking around as she got up and steadied herself. It's not as if there was anything _interesting_ here, just the underside of the deck. Then she felt her wrist being grabbed. She looked over to see Tarzan holding it. Seeing her look, he turned and ran full speed to the edge of the netting. "What are you do-"

Her sentence was cut off by her scream as the ape-man leapt off the edge, bringing her with him.

"I'm gonna die!"

-

"My head… I think I might have died there…" moaned Arc, sitting up.

"Kupopopo…" mumbled Montblanc, groaning.

"Where are we?" asked the dazed human, swiveling around on his butt, only to come face to face with a gorilla. "Gyahahahaaa!"

"Aaaaaah!" screamed the gorilla.

"Aaack!" squeaked Montblanc.

-

"Am I alive?"

Orchid looked around. She was in a large, hollow tree trunk lit by the green light of sun filtered through layers of leaves. She got up off the soft, mossy ground inside it and looked around. Spying Tarzan, she walked over to him. He was looking down another hollow trunk, which made a hole in the floor. She went over and looked down into the depths.

"What about it?" she asked, not noticing Tarzan's smirk. She felt a rough shove to her back, and found herself falling down the hole, to land on a slick and smooth branch. Before she could stop herself, she was sliding down the branch, like surfing, just without the water, beach, summer sun, or the surfboard. Other than that, it was just like surfing. Not that she had ever been, or even heard of surfing.

Branches slapped in her face, and she did her best to avoid them or knock them away with the keyblade, which had appeared in her hand as a reaction to the danger. Mostly, it wasn't the branches that bothered her, it was the idea of falling off. Behind her, she could hear Tarzan clearly enjoying the ride, much to her disgust and terror. Then, causing much fear and relief, the ride ended and she was falling once more.

"Oof!" she exclaimed as she landed hard on the ground, wind knocked from her. As she got up, she turned just in time to see Tarzan land smoothly on his feet. She muttered, "Show-off."

"Follow…me," said Tarzan, motioning to her, then to himself, then walking away and into a tent. Shrugging, Orchid walked after him and went into the tent.

Inside were four, what could loosely be called, people. One was a woman, brown haired, wearing a skirt and simple white tee. Another was a gorilla. The other two were Arc and Montblanc.

"Oh, you must be the girl these two were telling me about," said the woman, motioning her hand at Arc and Montblanc, then extending it towards the other girl. "Orchid, right? I'm Jane."

Orchid nodded and took the proffered hand and shook it.

"So what is this place? And what do you do here?" asked Orchid, in her usual flurry of background questions.

"This is the Deep Jungle. I'm here to continue my study of the gorillas," replied Jane, waving her hand at the gorilla that was making a highly animated conversation of grunts and other unintelligible noises with Tarzan, who responded back in kind. The gorilla finished its conversation with him, then left through the tent door. "Tarzan has been teaching me their language, and I've been teaching him English. His vocabulary's improved much since we last had visitors."

"Kupopo… were they a boy named Sora, a duck named Donald, and a dog named Goofy?" asked Montblanc.

"How did you know?" said the surprised researcher.

"We've met them," replied Arc indifferently. "Or, at least one of them."

"If you… off worlders," she said, after searching for the word, "are here, then does that mean… _they're_ back?"

"What do you mean?" asked Orchid, not sure about the nervousness she thought she heard in the woman's voice.

"The… shadows," said Tarzan.

"You mean the Heartless?" said Orchid. Before he could answer, there was a cry outside the tent. Orchid, Arc, Montblanc and Tarzan all ran out, while Jane stayed in the tent. What they saw outside didn't brighten their day.


	19. Garn and the Firestone

Ach: I thought I would post this yesterday… but the fates would not have it… oh well… And, my church drama is tomorrow! Yay! "The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ as told through the music of the 80s" woohoo… and I'm helping Katie-san on her story… otherwise known as Nekodoshi… READ HER FIC! "Nakineiri Itami". It's VERYVERYVERY GOOOD!

And… my second thought, which I meant to bring up last chapter… why are people convinced Eriks is evil? I mean, all he did was kill Hades… and Sora used to beat up on Hades all the time… and… he DID use a holy move… but then again, I intend to turn my reader's perception of light and dark upside down… mwahahahahaha... makes me laugh at all those fics who's summaries are along the lines of "oh no! darkness! Light save us!"

* * *

"I think he does mean the Heartless," said Arc dryly, viewing the scene before him. The gorilla they had seen earlier was now surrounded by Heartless, though these were of a different type. These seem to have taken to their surroundings, as they now resembled monkeys, some bluish gray and aggressive looking, others yellow and hopping around, brandishing slingshots in a way that would have been menacing if it hadn't been so comical. Despite the sense it made for their new form, several green mage Heartless were flying around, ready to provide support to the others. "I feel demeaned, having to fight these…"

"Terk!" said Tarzan, bounding out of the tent and towards the mass of Heartless. Waving his crude, but proven sturdy spear, he crashed into the shadowy mob.

"Demeaned or not, let's help!" said Orchid, charging in after him. Shrugging, Montblanc and Arc joined in. Orchid led off by casting Demi on several of the Heartless, then unleashing salvos of fireballs, freezing winds, torrents of water, and bolts of lightning. She had found that, true to its name, Spellweaver gave her plenty of power to cast spells with. Before, casting this many spells would leave her gasping for air on the ground, but now she merely felt exhilarated by the rushing energy. It wasn't long before the four of them had cleared out the Heartless.

The trio stood by as Tarzan talked with the shaken gorilla in their grunting, undecipherable language. After a few minutes, they finished, and the gorilla loped back into the safety of the tent.

"So, what happened, kupo?" asked Montblanc, walking over to the hunched over man.

"Terk says… the shadows… attacking gorillas," explained Tarzan. With that, he ran out of the camp, obviously expecting them to follow. The trio quickly ran after him.

-

"So… izat the last of them?" asked Arc, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his left. He had long since abandoned his white trench coat, and thanks to the jungle heat, his black shirt was plastered to his well-built body with sweat.

"Here… at least," panted Orchid, her white tank top clinging to her similarly, having left her sweatshirt and sleeves in the tent with Arc's coat when they had passed through again, having gone in one direction, up the vines and through the trees, even back to the tree house, and now had come back through the camp and left in the other direction. They had just finished off a group of Heartless surrounding a gorilla in a dead end area surrounded by cliffs. She sat down on a ledge that Montblanc had been standing on. She was exhausted from the constant fighting, as was the moogle and Arc. As much as he was fueled to keep fighting for his primate family, Tarzan was also looking tired, but nonetheless wary.

"Danger," he muttered, sniffing the air. He turned quickly at the sound of rustling leaves. He cried, "Sabor!"

The angry jungle cat leapt out of the foliage, barreling into the spear-wielding jungle man. Knocked on his back, Tarzan shoved with his spear, sending the jaguar flying over him to land amidst the trio. Sabor leapt at Arc and left a nasty set of claw marks across his chest, shredding his black shirt in the process, before he could respond then leapt away. Montblanc did his best to hit the cat with magic, but it was too agile and dodged easily out of the way. Tarzan attempted to strike it with his spear, but it dodged away from him, only to come face to face with Orchid's hand. And the fireball therein.

"Fire!" yelled Orchid, letting Sabor take it full on in the face. The savage cat was sent sprawling, clawing at its scorched fur. While it was occupied with this, Montblanc and Arc both took the opportunity to close in on it, and by the time it was on its feet again, they were close enough to unleash their attacks. Sabor quickly ran from between them, but not before tasting lighting and stone. Tarzan leapt, and brought his spear down hard on the cat's skull, knocking it down. He stood over it menacingly and stared, as if daring it to strike back. Sabor stared back, then looked away, and then ran for its life.

"What is that cat's deal?" asked Orchid. She didn't have time to contemplate this, because they heard a scream. A human scream.

"Jane!" they all yelled. The three turned to go back to the camp, but Tarzan was already far ahead of them. What he found was a disaster.

The tents had been knocked over and left in a jumble of canvas and stakes. Tables had been overturned, and books and research papers where scattered everywhere. Crates had been smashed, spilling their contents across the ground. There was no sign of anybody, except for a trail of black spots, looking like drippings from a shadow.

'Or a Heartless,' Orchid thought to herself as she surveyed the wreckage. Walking over, she stuck her finger into one of the puddles of darkness. Straightening up, she rubbed it between thumb and forefinger; it was slick, like oil, and cold to the touch, sapping the heat from her hand. She wiped it off before looking up again.

"I guess we follow these, kupo," said Montblanc, who was also looking at the dark markings and poking them suspiciously with his rod. The four of them followed the trail of shadow and destruction out of the camp, through a lagoon of lazy hippopotami, and up a vine, now slick with oozing darkness. When they got to the top, they were high among the branches. Looking around, they could occasionally see scared gorillas peeking out from among the leaves.

"They are… scared," said Tarzan. "They do not like… shadow. Danger… to heart."

They walked quietly among the branches, their silence caused by the lack of noise in the forest. No birds called, nor did any monkeys chatter. All was still. The jungle was afraid.

They came to a vine crawling up a tree. Tarzan motioned upwards, then quickly began his ascent up the tree, using the vine as his ladder. The trio quickly followed.

When they got to the top, they were in a sort of natural room around the trunk, walled in by dense foliage and branches, but hollow and spacious here. They saw a large hulking dark figure walking away from them, carrying a struggling form under one humongous arm.

"So… you're here," he said, stopping. He threw Jane roughly to one side, where she crashed into a solid looking branch and slumped to the floor.

"Jane!" yelled Tarzan, leaping towards her now unconscious form. One monstrous arm swung out and slammed into him, sending him flying back towards where the other three stood. The behemoth of a person turned around to face them.

He was huge and towered above them, despite being hunched over. His frame was enormous and sturdy, and his arms were thick as logs, his hands even bigger than Arc's single stone gauntlet. His hulking posture left his hands near to the ground, similar to Tarzan, but much more gargantuan and ground smashing looking rather than agile lolloping. He was the embodiment of "brute force".

He stared at them, bottom half and left side of his face covered in darkness, the eye a Heartless yellow orb. His dirty hair above his blocky, chiseled jaw was wild and matted, looking close to an animal's fur. He was dressed in a patchwork of shaggy clothes and plates of metal.

"What are you? A Heartless?" asked Orchid, unnerved by the man, or what she assumed had once been one.

"Not… a Heartless," said the man, although he didn't sound quite sure of himself. "I am… Garn."

"I don't care what you are, but you're on the wrong side," growled Arc, pointing out the monkey-like Heartless that had formed around the man, and were obviously on his side. He took a fighting stance and pushed up his yellow shades.

"Elias… said to kill the one that holds…that," rumbled Garn, pointing at Spellweaver, which Orchid was now holding defensively in her hands.

"You… won't hurt … friends!" shouted Tarzan. He launched himself at the hulking man and was followed in his charge by Orchid. Montblanc busied himself with destroying the Heartless that appeared, with Arc's help.

This time, Tarzan was ready for Garn's swinging arm, and instead of striking it, he latched on with his free arm and both legs, then began climbing up it towards him, trying his best not to be shaken off. While Garn was distracted like this, Orchid took this chance to jump and lunge up at the towering man's chest, her keyblade striking him hard in the center. Bellowing in rage, Garn brought his free arm around and grabbed Orchid in one humongous hand.

"He…lp…" she managed to gasp, his hand slowly crushing her body.

"Let go of her!" shouted Arc as he came crashing down on the titanic man's head, his tinted lenses glinting dangerously. Struck square in the face by the stone gauntlet, Garn released his hold on Orchid, but in his stumbling, he also managed to smash both Tarzan and Arc into some of the many branches around them.

"Thunder!" yelled Montblanc, raising his rod aloft. Bolts of lightening came crashing through the canopy, finding home along Garn's arms and shoulders. The smell of burnt ozone filled the treetop coliseum. Roaring his defiance, Garn began lumbering towards Montblanc, a sight as huge and unstoppable as a glacier.

"Oh, no you don't!" yelled Orchid, who he had forgotten in his rage. She pointed Spellweaver at the hulking colossus's back. "Demi!"

A black sphere of magic formed around Garn, distorting his form, and further morphing his image as it flattened and crushed him thin as a drawing upon the leafy ground of the canopy room. Then the spell was done, and he sprung back up like an unwanted weed, though it was obvious to see that he was heavily weakened by it.

He let out another bellowing roar as Tarzan's spear stabbed into his back through a gap in his mismatched armor. Hanging on as the behemoth of a man raged about wildly, he twisted and pushed the spear in farther, but Garn wouldn't die. He continued to flail and fight, even as blazing salvos of fire struck him and blows rained down on him on all sides.

"How can we beat him?" asked Orchid, as she found herself slammed into a thick branch once again. She was at the brink of exhaustion, and she could see her companions were nearing the same. Then something happened. By chance, a plate of armor on Garn's chest was knocked loose by Arc. "That mark!"

The Heartless symbol, though only partially complete, was imprinted upon Garn's shadow darkened chest.

_Reap when the time is ripe! Destroy the taint!_

The voice from eternity.

"Take this!" yelled Orchid, plunging the keyblade into the Heartless emblem. It stuck, and was pulled out of her hands as Garn stumbled back, mortally wounded. Rays of light shot out from between patches of his patchwork dress of furs and armor, and the Heartless like side of his face burst apart in the torrent of light. Suddenly, he exploded into inky black particles, all of which were siphoned back into the Spellweaver. The keyblade hung for a moment in the air where Garn once was, then fell to the leafy floor.

"Jane!" cried Tarzan, rushing over to the fallen woman. She groaned and stirred a little, but didn't wake up.

"She'll be okay, kupo," said Montblanc. He walked over, and waved his wand over the two of them. "Cure."

Meanwhile, Orchid had picked up Spellweaver again. She could feel it twitching in her hand.

"It's close isn't it?" she asked softly as Arc walked up to her.

"What is?" he questioned.

"The keyhole." With that, she spun on her heel and pointed the keyblade at the trunk of the tree which branches they stood among. A ray of light shot out and struck it, and slowly, the moss and lichen that covered the tree peeled away, revealing a keyhole. There was an omnipresent click, and then the keyhole was gone.

"Thank…you," said Tarzan, as Orchid walked over to him and Jane. "Have…this."

He dropped something into her hand. Upon inspection, it appeared to be a small metal cage on a chain, its insides dark. When she held it up to the light, none shone through its bars; it seemed to contain darkness itself.

"Where did you get this from, kupo?" asked Montblanc staring at it.

"Up," Tarzan responded simply.

"It… must have come when the barriers fell again, huh?" asked Orchid. Tarzan merely nodded. "But… what is it?"

"It's a key chain, kupo," said Montblanc. Seeing Orchid's doubtful look, he reached over and replaced Spellweaver's key chain with the new one. The change was immediate.

The vine hand guards turned black, and spiky rose-thorns sprung from them at random intervals. The same happened to the handle and haft. The spiral vine blade was replaced with a large ivy-like leaf, also black, but with shimmering silver-gray speckles in it. The keyblade pulsed darkly, almost radiating purple-black light.

"This blade… is Poison Ivy," said Orchid, her eyes distant. She pointed it at a nearby flower that was budding on the ground from a vine. "Poison."

A globule of green sickliness formed around the black bud and burst like a murky bubble in a swamp. She watched as the flower wilted and died.

"This blade… gives me new abilities… but I lost Demi… and Spellweaver's magic. But I do have power."

To prove this, she swung Poison Ivy at a nearby branch, as thick around as her leg, and sliced through with incredible ease.

"That's really kupo!" exclaimed Montblanc.

"Huh? Oh," said Orchid, shaking her head, as if trying to clear it. Then she looked up again. "Well, let's get Jane back to the tent."

Tarzan nodded and grabbed Jane, then jumped down the hole they came in through. Montblanc went after him, and Orchid followed, pausing only to turn back to Arc, who was looking at the tree trunk.

"Come on, Arc, let's go!" she shouted, then ducked out of sight as she climbed down. He still just stood there.

"But something dropped out…" he trailed off. He finally found it. At the base of the trunk, hidden among the leaves and debris, was a glowing red gem. Walking over, he could have sworn he saw flames flickering in it. As he reached down to pick it up, there was flaring inferno before him, and a voice like a fiery demon.

"RELEASE ME."

And then it was gone. He picked up the flickering gem and looked at it. It was smooth and round, like a pebble from a stream, though it was a clear red, like a ruby, with orange and yellow streaks through it. They looked to him like they moved, though it could have been a trick of the light.

"Arc! Hurry it up, Stonehenge!" came the yell from below. He pocketed the gem quickly and went down to them.

-

"So… Garn has fallen," said Elias, staring at the three figures around the table.

"I never liked him anyways," said the thin man with the wheedling voice. He was currently juggling several sabers in the gloom.

"You never like anyone," said the one with flowing white hair, his refined voice cutting the silence perfectly, "and nobody likes you."

"It matters not," said Elias, turning from them. "They shall soon face one of Ansem's leftover pets."

"Will it stop them?" asked the druid-like man, crossing his thick arms.

"Perhaps…perhaps not…we shall see."


	20. A Fiery Demon and a Metallic Monster

Late: yeah, I've been busy lately. Sorry. Anyways, here's the next chapter. I think after this we can find out who the one Elias wants is. "Him". He's connected to the white haired dude… and Arc…Oh well, we'll see. And, we get a cool summon this chapter. Yay. Hmm… I'm spending less time on worlds… well, Traverse WAS the start, with all the background… Wonderland was just the greatest… and the Coliseum… we'll be back… I just wasn't hyped about deep jungle… and all you Agrabah fans, I'm afraid I'll have to apologize in advance for the next few chaps. Who else will I neglect? Umm… Atlantica fans, Monstro fans, Neverland fans… Yaoi fans, Squffie fans, Sokairi fans…yeah, stuff… but Kairi's missing (as usual) and Riku and Squall are… busy. Hmm… 5 or 6 more chaps… and we get to a real turning point… whatever, RR! fanimecon, woot! (also, I'm making Aero useable for Def. and Off.)

* * *

-

"Hmm… I wonder where Zell and the rest of them are?"

"Maybe we should ask Cid, kupo?"

"Don't bother, they're all on patrol, most likely."

The three were wandering the first district in the approaching twilight, enjoying the cool night air. They had stopped by to visit and restock their supplies. Arc had not enjoyed the last meal consisting entirely of tropical fruits.

"How 'bout we go visit Merlin?" suggested Orchid.

"That's a kupo idea!" exclaimed Montblanc, his antenna pompom bouncing merrily. "We haven't seen him in a while."

"Old man," grumbled Arc as they wandered over and pushed open the door to the Third District. They sighed as they watched portals of darkness rend the air apart in the once quiet square. Soon, a small group of soldiers and mages clinked and whizzed about. "Don't they ever give up?"

"Who ever said the Heartless made sense?" asked Orchid as she strode forwards, Poison Ivy forming in her hands. She was beginning to like the brutish, raw power that it gave her.

They soon finished off the small group and continued on their way.

"That wasn't much," commented Arc, his white trench coat fluttering behind him as they walked. "I guess I can't accuse them of slacking off around here."

"Say," started Orchid, "who do you think those were?"

"Kupo?" asked Montblanc.

"Those Heartless… they were people once, weren't they?" asked Orchid, looking back with a touch of sadness in her blue eyes.

"Yeah… but we can't save them… it's not like we knew any of them," said Arc indifferently, walking on without looking back. "You need a special connection to save someone from something that deep."

They soon found themselves once more in front of the highly decorated door to the wizard's grotto. Orchid unlocked it with a lazy wisp of fire, and they walked inside.

Cursing and mumbling about the moving stones, they walked into the old wizard's house.

"Ah, yes, there you are. I was just about to start without you," said Merlin from where he sat at the table. The trio walked up to it to see a platter of cookies sitting in the center and sat down around the table. "And what brings you to my house today?"

"Boredom, mostly," replied Orchid. She started nibbling at a cookie like how a small animal would, managing to create a flurry of crumbs.

"Nothing… interesting?" asked the old wizard mysteriously, his eyes roving from Orchid's childish behavior to Arc and settling there in a piercing gaze.

"You know, don't you?" asked Arc, his eyes wary.

"Of course," replied Merlin.  
"And do you expect me to spill?" asked Arc, his eyes tinged with a nervous fear.

"I don't see why not," stated the mage calmly, his gaze unwavering.

"I won't give it up."

"It's no use to you as it is. Just let me see the gem already."

"Huh?" asked Arc. Then he quickly masked his confusion and relief by searching around in his jacket until he found the gem he had picked up in Deep Jungle. He had thought the old man had been hinting about something deeper. Something darker and dearer to him. He found the gem and put it onto the table, where it pulsed slightly, seeming to glow with fire. "Here… what is it?"

"A spirit that was too strong to be dispersed when its world died," said Merlin, looking at it. "Take it to the Fairy Godmother, over there," he said, waving one hand vaguely towards a toy carriage. At this, it went up in a puff of smoke and sparkles, and when it all cleared, a motherly looking old lady with a cheerful face stood there. She held a little wand, and wore a simple faded blue and purple dress with a hood, and her eyes twinkled along with her gentle smile.

"Bring it here, please," she said in a polite voice. Arc got up and took the gem over without pausing for his usual noncompliant attitude. "Ah, the poor thing…"

There was a flare of light, and the fairy godmother looked a little taken aback.  
"My… not very appreciative, are we? Well, I'm sure you two will get along just fine…" she said, and began waving her wand as the stone floated in midair before her. There was a burst of light as the stone erupted into flames, swirling throughout the room.

"I AM FREE. I AM YOURS TO COMMAND, MASTER."

Arc stared at the whirling vortex of flames, and could barely perceive something staring back. "Who are you?"

"I AM IFRIT, THE DEMON GOD OF FIRE."

"Ah. Then come now… there is no fight for you here."

The whirlwind of flames funneled towards Arc, until it struck his chest and was sucked in. Then it was gone.

To Orchid's surprise, nothing in the room was burnt or damaged in any way.

"Let's go find something to destroy," said Arc enthusiastically, smiling widely. He left the house, and Orchid followed after. Montblanc sighed resignedly, then said his goodbyes to Merlin and the Fairy Godmother and left.

"Hey…" started Orchid as they walked through the Third District, "Doesn't Traverse Town have a keyhole?"

"Yeah… I guess so," replied Arc. "But who knows where it is…"

"Kupo… they _were_ in different places than when Sora went to the worlds, weren't they?" commented Montblanc. He looked around, then suddenly stopped and snuffled at the air. "Kupopo… something's not right."

"Yeah," replied Arc, pushing his shades up over his eyes. Orchid now knew this was a sign of annoyance or seriousness. "I feel it too."

Orchid's eyes darted around the empty square, and Poison Ivy materialized in her hands. She took a defensive position. Then she felt it. "Not again…"

The trio jumped out of the way just as it came slamming down between them. They looked up to see a familiar face. Or, at least, a familiar faceguard.

"Not you again!" cursed Arc.

"Guard Armor…" muttered Orchid. "Fine! Be that way!"

The metal monstrosity clanked menacingly at them before flying off into three sets of pieces, as it had the last time. Only this time, all of them concentrated on surrounding Orchid.

"So, you wanna dance?" she asked, taking a stance more suited for dancing than fighting. "Moonlight Rave!"

The enormous armored Heartless stared at her for a moment just before it sent its clawed gauntlets in to crush her. But she wasn't there. There was a loud crash as one of the Guard Armor's feet went flying to crash into a wall and lay still. There was a blur, and Orchid came back into vision near it, holding the keyblade gracefully as she turned and took aim. Then she was gone again.

Arc and Montblanc could only stare as she blinked in and out of sight and blows rained down upon the Heartless's limbs and body. Soon, both the feet and the hands were lying around uselessly on the tiled ground. There was a flash of movement, and at the height of her ascent, they saw Orchid floating midair, holding the keyblade aloft with both hands.

"Finale!" she cried out, then disappeared in a blur of movement again. The giant plated torso shook as explosions rang out all across it. Orchid appeared again behind it, Poison Ivy held out much as a samurai would hold it. The armored body and head fell in a crumpled pile behind her as she stood up and turned around.

"Woo, woo!" whistled Arc, clapping enthusiastically.

"They don't learn, do they?" said Orchid confidently, striding back to her friends.  
"Encore! Encore!" shouted Arc happily as Orchid took a bow. But Montblanc didn't share their enthusiasm.

"Kupo… I think it heard you, Arc," stuttered Montblanc, pointing his rod behind Orchid. The other two looked to where he was pointing, just in time to see the Guard Armor rising up behind them. It wasn't done with them yet.

"Are you dense or something?" shouted Orchid, bringing her keyblade into ready again. She wasn't expecting what happened next.

The limbs spun, then the clawed gauntlets slammed down onto the ground, as if in a handstand. Then the feet flew up to replace them, folding at the middle to become a vicious set of bulky claws. The torso did a flip beneath the helmet, completely reorienting it so the wider opening had the head.

"It's like an opposite…" said Arc, staring at it through his lenses.

"Opposite Armor," supplied Montblanc, preparing to start casting spells.

"It's still going to lose!" yelled Orchid, leaping at it. Before she could attack, one of the massive, blocky claws swatted her out of the air like a fly, and she landed hard on the ground. There, the viciously nailed feet tackled her, leaving vicious scratches on her arms and legs. She screamed out in pain, but the gauntlets-turned-feet just jumped at her again.

"Back off!" shouted Arc as his fist slammed into the both of them. The feet were sent flying, but he turned around only to see the claws flying at him.

"Thunder!" cried Montblanc. Bolts of lightning came crashing down upon the claws, stunning them. By now, the gauntlet feet were back again, but Arc was ready for them. Montblanc continued his magical assault of the flying boot claws as Orchid rose to her feet, though a little unsteadily. She looked around at the fighting. What about the body?

She was answered when she noticed a resounding humming that seemed to be everywhere. When she looked up, she found the source. The torso was aiming itself like the barrel of some giant cannon, and she could see the shining light as it gathered energy for the blast. She pushed her way forwards so that she was between it and her friends.

"Bring it on!" she screamed defiantly at it. The torso looked as if it would shake itself apart from all the energy it contained. Then, there was a blinding flash, and all of it was let loose in a torrential bullet.

_The raging squall of weather to defend you!  
_It was the voice from eternity.

"Aero!" shouted Orchid, bringing Poison Ivy in front of her, hands wide with one holding it and the other supporting the haft. A wall of air sprung up before her, and the blast from the Opposite Armor smashed into it and the keyblade. Sparks and lightning shot off wildly at the clash of powers. "Go… AWAY!"

She swung the keyblade outwards, and the energy flew back at it. Right into its helmed face. Through the exploding lights, she could just see the Heartless disintegrate. Behind her, the limbs that her friends were fighting burst into dark particles of shadow, then shot past them as they were sucked into the keyblade. A pulsing light emerged from it. Orchid could just barely hear the clink of metal as the key chain fell off it. The light brightened to a blinding brilliance, and when it faded, the keyblade had grown again.

"Nearbloom," said Orchid, admiring the new blade. True to its name, the green leaf blade was now replaced with a large bud, which looked like it could deal out some serious mauling. The hand guards were now twisting vines with leaves on the outside; she knew them to be razor sharp. She swung it around, and could feel its power. It didn't have quite the raw force of Poison Ivy, nor as much magic as Spellweaver, but the balance outweighed either of them. She picked up the key chain for Poison Ivy and put it back on. Nothing happened, and then it fell off again. "What the heck?"

"Kupopo… I think that it's at a new stage… so," said Montblanc, then paused, as he sorted out his thoughts, "it can't use the old keychains until they have caught up… like how the Vorpal Blade became Spellweaver."

"Yeah, I get it," said Arc. "It's a plant right? So it's going to grow… different stages allow different versions."

"I guess so," said Orchid, turning Nearbloom this way and that in her hand. Then she felt it. The tugging sensation again. She spun around, pulled by the keyblade, until it was pointing at the fountain across the Third District Square. A light shot out from the end of it and it went all the way across and directly into the keyhole that had appeared on the fountain. There was a click, and the keyhole faded and the light was gone.

"Well, that takes care of here," said Orchid, just as Zell came running up.

"Hey! There you are! I've been looking all over for you three!" he shouted as he ran up. "We gotta get Arc over to the hotel, man! It's time to PAR-TAY!"

"Happy twentieth!" screamed Rikku as she caught sight of Arc. Soon, all three of them were swept up by the gathering crowd and went to the hotel. Things were looking up, looking down.


	21. Of Thieves and Princes

Asokonate, sumimasen: Yeah, I've really gotten hammered by finals and such… 4 MORE DAYS! JUST 4 MORE DAYS! Yeah… I think Desert World's going to span 3 chapters maybe…. Or just two. Who knows. Anyways, I can practically guarantee that the mysterious dude that Elias is after will be named in the next chapter. Then, after this world… we got some stuff… 2 more chaps of T-town and Coliseum. Then, we get to THE COOL WORLD WHERE I TURN YOUR VIEWS INSIDE OUT! Oh, yeah! The same world with two of our favorite FF blonde guys! And they're not Tidus! But… I'm getting ahead of myself… that won't be for at least 4 or 5 chaps. Anyways, RR!

* * *

-

The three walked into the harsh, desert town purposefully. Only one thing was on these heroes' minds.

"It's so hot!"

Things could be worse, of course. They just couldn't imagine it. In the sweltering, dry, arid heat, their clothes were all feeling uncomfortably hot. Arc had abandoned his black shirt back in the Gummi Ship, and was now wearing his white trench coat loosely over his bare, well-muscled chest, which was shiny with sweat. Similarly, Orchid had left her sweatshirt and its sleeves in the ship also, and now staggered through the dusty streets in her baggy shorts and short white tank top. Montblanc still wore his green jacket, and seemed to ignore the heat, which surprised Orchid, considering his fur.

Despite the temperature, the marketplace they had entered bustled with activity. People jostled through the crowds to get to the various stalls and stands where merchants and hawkers cried their wares out to the masses. Noise filled the air as nobles and commoners alike bustled about the town square of Agrabah

"Perfect place for pickpockets…" muttered Arc, as he once again wiped sweat from his forehead with his left. He felt someone bump into him, and a hurried apology. He decided not to accept it and rounded on the man who had knocked into him, causing the man to fall onto the ground. "That's why I tie my munny bag to a loop."

The man stared at them for a moment. He had somewhat mussed black hair, a handsome face, and wore a fez, a simple vest, and the baggy white pants common to the populace. From their dirty state, he appeared to be some kind of beggar or thief. Arc stared back, then suddenly blinked as the man smirked at them. "And that's why I'm glad Abu has quick hands."

The trio turned from looking at the man only just in time to see a monkey, wearing a vest and fez similar to the man's, dash between Arc's legs to the man with Arc's bag of munny in its greedy little hands.

"See ya!" said the man, then ran off, the monkey and the munny riding on his shoulders as he nimbly dodged through the crowds.

"Get back here!" raged Arc, waving his arms and causing everyone nearby to clear out of his way as he ran after the pickpocket.

"Thief, kupo!" yelled Montblanc, but no one seemed eager to help.

"Come on!" Orchid shouted at the moogle as she ran off after the furious Arc. They ran through the squares and plazas after the thief, doing their best to avoid running into people, although Arc bowled over quite a number of market goers. They saw him run down a back alley, and quickly chased after him.

"That's it, you're done, punk!" fumed Arc, but turned the corner only to find an empty dead end surrounded by high walls. "Where?"

Orchid looked up as a clinking object came falling down, hitting the unsuspecting Arc hard on the head. She caught just a glimpse as the man disappeared across the rooftops. She sighed and looked back down as Montblanc caught up with them and Arc picked up his regained bag of munny.

"Well, you don't have to worry, Montblanc," assured Orchid. "We got our munny back."

"That's not why I'm so flustered, kupo!" squeaked the agitated white animal. "There's Heartless back in the bazaar!"

"Ah, damn, I guess they don't melt in the heat," cursed Arc, pushing up his yellow shades, the sun glaring balefully off of the lenses. Turning with a swish of his trench coat, he walked back out into the square, his muscles gleaming in the light. They looked around the square, which was empty save for several menacing creatures.

These heartless had also taken to their surroundings. There were several Heartless with white turbans enwrapping their entire heads, only letting their yellow eyes glare out at them as they swung their scimitars about dangerously. In the middle of their group was a fat bandit, huge and similar to a large body, though instead of the soldier livery, it wore an orange vest and a turban.

"They don't look too tough," grinned Arc, as he rubbed his stony fist and prepared to fight. Before Orchid could give her opinion, the bandits had leapt at them.

"Ha!" yelled Orchid as she parried and counterattacked with Nearbloom. The large bud at the end smashed into the Heartless, which burst into particles, then was sucked back into the keyblade. Feeling it shimmer with power, Orchid turned and smashed another Heartless. Nearby, three of the bandits were being decimated by Montblanc's magical arsenal as he called down lightning, wind, and water upon them.

"Come on, big guy, let's go!" grinned Arc, staring up at the fat bandit's ponderous face through a tinted view. The obese Heartless looked down at him, then brought up a jug that it was holding in one hand to its mouth, or where its mouth would be. 'I didn't know Heartless drank…" thought Arc. Then he found out the fat bandit's purpose; it spewed out a stream of fire at Arc, almost catching him as he quickly dodged out of the way. "That wasn't nice!"

Arc leapt into the air and prepared to smash down on the fat bandit with his giant stone gauntlet, but it saw him coming. Its large hand smashed into him, sending him flying back into the air above it.

"Fine then," said Arc, twisting in the air to take aim at the Heartless below him again. "Planet Diver!"

Unnatural fire burst out all across Arc, and he smashed down upon the fat bandit with the power, speed, and force of a burning meteor. The Heartless burst into billions of inky particles, which dispersed in the desert air. Arc stood up from his landing crouch, and looked around, his trench coat flapping in the wind from the aftershock. Montblanc was casting Cure on Orchid just as she finished off the last bandit, and the square was now empty of everyone but them and one other.

Slow clapping filled the silent air as they turned to look at the man. From how he was dressed, decked out with scimitar and spear, he looked to be some sort of guard. Judging from some of the gold linings on his uniform, he was probably some sort of captain or other high-ranking officer. He walked slowly up to them, his step confident and unflinching, even as the three of them took up wary fighting positions against him.

"No need to fight, my friends," he said, raising his hands up in a symbol of peace. "I come from the palace, as captain of the Royal Guards."

"What do you want with us?" asked Arc suspiciously.

"He already said he came in peace, kupo," chided Montblanc.

"Right. I came because, as you can see, we have been having these creatures attacking people lately," continued the man. "This had happened before, about four years ago. I was told by my lord, the prince, to be on the look out for someone wielding a large, key-like object," he said, pointing at the keyblade in Orchid's hand, "and if I saw them, to bring them to the palace immediately. We are in great need of your help."

At this, the man kneeled before them, as if entreating them for divine aid. Orchid flushed at this, Arc stared smugly, and Montblanc quickly interjected before Arc could start making unreasonable demands.

"Okay, kupo. Just lead the way," said the moogle, and followed the guard as he got up, brushed himself off, and quickly headed towards the palace. Orchid followed quickly, occasionally looking around at the now emptied streets and squares as Arc grumbled along behind them, cursing the heat and the fact that they missed a chance to extort some profit. Soon they came to the palace gates.

"Whoa," breathed the awed Orchid, looking at the humongous and grandeur palace. It had high white walls, with golden roofs on the towers and domes. Even Arc was amazed into silence be it.

"Well, come on," said the guard as the gates opened and he walked in. They took one last look out, then followed him in as the gates closed behind them. After walking through beautiful gardens and extensive hallways, the trio was finally led to a large, emblazoned and highly ornate set of doors which they took to be the entrance to the throne room, and they were quickly confirmed in this as the captain of the guards announced their presence as the doors opened, seemingly of their own accord. "My lord Aladdin, I have brought the heroes that you said would save us."

A handsome young man strode out, hurriedly adjusting his royal clothes as if he had just changed into them. Not looking up as he shifted his sash, he started talking to them as the trio stared, waiting to see his face before they decided. "Ah yes, I was expecting you sooner, Sora-"

He looked up and all four of them got the same shocked and stunned looks on their faces. Their jaws dropped and the trio pointed at him while he pointed back at them.

"It's you!" they all shouted simultaneously. Sure enough, the Prince Aladdin was the same street rat that had jokingly robbed them earlier.

"Where's Sora?" shouted Aladdin.

"What are you-" started Arc.  
"-doing here?" finished Orchid.

"Kupopopo… what's going on?" sighed Montblanc, utterly confused by the fast turn of events. There would be a lot of explaining to do.

-

"So you need us to reseal your world?" asked Orchid.

"Yeah. As you've seen, the Heartless are back," said Aladdin in a resigned voice. "We've done our best to control them and maintain order, but we've only just barely been able to do that. And we suspect that it'll just get worse. That's why me and Jasmine have been awaiting for Sora to return."

"Well, Sora's not available, so Orchid here will just have to do," pointed out Arc, as if daring the prince to make any complaints.

"I know, I'm just surprised that the keyblade's changed hands. I'll just be glad when all of this Heartless mess is cleared up."

"Well, that's what we're here for, kupo," consoled Montblanc, patting the dejected prince on the back.

"Hey, Aladdin," said Orchid, staring out a window. "Is it normal for blue clouds with sparks to fly through the air around here?"

"Of course not…" started Aladdin, stopping when he thought of something. His eyes lit up and his face looked ready to break into a smile. "Unless…"

They all ran to the open balcony and stared as a swirling blue cloud came spiraling erratically, leaving a trail of sparks and stars.

"It's him!" said Aladdin, grinning wildly.  
"Who?" asked the other three in unison.

Their question was quickly answered when the swirling mass of magic reached them. There was a poof of smoke and a flash of light, and when they opened their eyes, a large, blue, djinn-like figure was standing there, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and board shorts. He was also toting a large, overstuffed suitcase, several bags and packages, and had a Goofy cap on his head.

"I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!" he announced grandly.

"Genie!" shouted Aladdin, running up to him.

"Al!" exclaimed the genie, throwing his arms up as his baggage and hat disappeared. His shirt and shorts were replaced by a vest and white pants similar to the ones Aladdin had been wearing earlier. "Oh, Al, you wouldn't believe the places I've seen. Like, this one time, at band camp…"

"Who's this?" asked Arc bluntly, stopping Genie from starting a long-winded story. He stared at the wish-granting being, clearly not as amazed by him as Orchid and Montblanc seemed to be as they grinned at the large blue fellow.

"Arc, this is Genie," introduced Aladdin, waving at the magical being, then motioning at the other three. "Genie, this is Arc, Montblanc, and the new Keyblade Master, Orchid."

"Nice to meet you all!" exclaimed Genie, shaking hands with Orchid. "So, Sora quit the job?"

"Well, not really," said Orchid as her arm almost fell off from the enthusiastic shaking.

"And you, my, aren't you the best-looking moogle around, eh?" complimented Genie, shaking Montblanc's hand, and the rest of him, up and down enthusiastically. Much to the moogle's relief, Genie soon let go and turned to Arc. "And how 'bout a handshake here, big guy? I bet you got a killer grip there, right?"

Arc glared at the genie indifferently.

"Aw, somebody needs a hug!" cooed Genie, grabbing Arc in the world's largest bear hug before the man could react.

"Ack! Get him offa me!" shouted Arc as he struggled to escape Genie's grasp.

The other three laughed at his predicament, though their laughter was cut short when a guard came running in.

"Your majesty!" panted the guard, obviously out of breath from running. "Princess Jasmine has been kidnapped!"


	22. A Glimpse of a Dar'ck Past

Nehehe: Now, to introduce the mysterious man Elias is after. And touch Arc's past. And fight. And have Genie charades. I got this out faster than I thought I would, and there's all this great stuff. Aren't I a nice guy? Also included is your regular reminder that Riku and Leon aren't having a fun time. Yeah, that's all I can think of, so RR!

* * *

-

"Are you sure they went there?" asked Orchid worriedly, holding on as the carpet flew across the desert sands.  
"I'm sure they took her to the Cave of Wonders," said Aladdin grimly, now decked out in his thieving clothes and a scimitar, his faithful monkey Abu on his shoulder. "That's where the Heartless were centered before…"

"And if anyone kidnapped Jasmine, then I'm sure it was them, sir!" said Genie, flying next to them and now costumed as a commando, helmet, camouflage-gear, and all, and also managing to march through the air. "No one else is sneaky enough to get past my Genie brigade super defenses, sir! Why, I even-"

"Genie," interrupted Aladdin, "you were in the room with me when it happened, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah…" trailed off Genie, his clothes back to normal, his head sagging.

"Don't worry, we'll catch them!" declared Orchid confidently, looking ahead across the dunes.

Aladdin smiled weakly at this, but the worried look on his face hadn't left him.

Arc also looked troubled, but in a different way. He kept looking to their right, as if something was bugging him.

"Turn that way," he said, pointing off into the distance in that direction.

"That's not where we're going," Aladdin brushed his request off.

"We need to go that way," said Arc more urgently.

"No. We. Don't," replied Aladdin, his voice heavy with annoyance.

"There's someone who needs our help."

"Jasmine needs our help!"

"Someone who might die if we don't help!"

Aladdin was silent at this. It wasn't likely that someone would kidnap Jasmine just to kill her. "Fine."

The carpet turned and Genie followed silently as the grim crew on the flying carpet scanned the horizon for what Arc had been talking about. Then they saw it.

A black speck grew into a figure surrounded by Heartless as they drew closer. The shadows were circling around the man, slowly closing in on him. The man himself was dressed in a black trench coat and had long black hair, some of which covered the right side of his face. He looked ragged and beaten, and held two wooden-handled katana in his hands, their tips dragging in the sand. Even from their distance, the people on the carpet could see he was breathing hard and wouldn't last long.

"Who is that?" wondered Orchid aloud.

"Why are they all the way out here in the desert?" asked Aladdin, turning to Arc. He got no response, as Arc was too busy staring at the figure.

_Arcanis…_

Arc's eyes went wide. He hadn't heard that voice in two years.

"Fly in closer," he said quickly, still staring at the figure as it pitifully tried to fight back the swarms of Heartless. As the carpet circled in lower, he watched as the shadows leaped onto the man. If they were only closer, he would be able to tell if it was him.

_Help me…_

By now, the man was covered in darkness up to his shoulders, and only had one hand free. Soon, the katana held by it was swallowed by the darkness.

At this point, Arc jumped from the carpet, despite the thirty-foot drop to the sand, and he could hear his friends' shocked cries behind him. As he fell, he kept his eyes intent on the man he was plummeting towards. The man was reaching his hand up to Arc, his face almost covered by the Heartless. A face that Arc never thought he would see again.

"Dar'ck!" shouted Arc in surprise, willing himself to fall faster. But it was too late. The shadows had consumed the man up to the raised wrist by the time Arc was within ten feet of the ground. He could just barely hear his voice in his mind.

_Help me, Arcanis…_

There was a flash of pure white light, blinding Arc and even those still on the flying carpet. When he opened his eyes, Arc was alone. The Heartless were gone. And so was his brother.

-

"We have him, my lord," said the white haired man, pivoting elegantly on one foot to face Elias.

"Good. The master will be pleased," said the half-masked man. "We may now start to create the Gray One…"

"You called for me?" asked a high, slightly wheedling voice. Its owner, the skinny man with the sabers, quickly walked out of the gloom to stand before Elias.

"Yes," he replied, turning to face him. "The Heartless have brought the Princess to the Cave of Wonders, Gali. I need you to take her from them and bring her here before the keyblade master catches up with them."

"As you wish, my lord," said the man, bowing, and backing off until he disappeared into the shadows. Elias turned back to the white haired man and the two chained figures he was attending to. Both hung side by side on the wall, their heads sunken to their chests and their eyes staring blankly. Their bodies were there, but there minds were worlds away.

"Start working on the new one soon. These two are coming along nicely," said Elias. He turned, then walked off into the gloom, leaving Riku and Leon behind him.

-

"Who was that?" asked Orchid as they continued their flight to the Cave of Wonders.

"A… friend that I hadn't seen in a while," said Arc quietly.

Orchid opened her mouth to ask for details, but was quickly shushed by Montblanc, who saw that Arc wasn't in the mood to share. Apparently, Arc's past wasn't an entirely happy memory.

"There it is!" pointed out Aladdin, his hand extended forwards at a large dune, shaped like the head of a tiger. Genie flew down to it and they hopped of the carpet when it came to the ground and they all ran to the cave, only to find Heartless shadows already there, carrying an unconscious body.

"Jasmine!" shouted Aladdin, running forwards. He was stopped as he brought up his sword to block a saber that came flying at him. To his surprise, the saber whirled like a boomerang back to its master instead of flying into the dunes. The thrower grabbed it easily in one hand.

"Ah, ah, ah!" came the taunting voice. Its owner was a tall, gaunt man, wrapped in a ragged red cape that covered all of his body except for the arm holding the saber. His mouth was covered by the cape, and the top of his head was wrapped in a bandana, also red. All that was exposed of his face was his eyes and his pointed nose. "I don't like you, so you can't have her."

"Who are you?" demanded Aladdin as his friends caught up with him.

"Gali," replied the man, his eyes slightly wild as he stared at the people before him. "And I'll be taking the princess with me. Have fun!"

With this, the man sheathed his saber under his cape, grabbed the Princess Jasmine from the shadows with his exposed arm, then disappeared in a quick puff of smoke, like a magician's trick.

"Damn it!" cursed Aladdin, running forwards, scimitar drawn. When he got to the shadows though, they had disappeared. He looked around in confusion at the sudden lack of enemies as the others cautiously crept forwards to join him.

"Do we just go in?" asked Orchid, relaxing as she saw there were no enemies.

"Something doesn't feel right…" muttered Arc, pushing up his shades.

Suddenly, wicked, curved swords shot up from the sand, followed by the arms holding them. Shocked and surprised, the group could only stare as bandits sprung out of the sand like maggots from a carcass. Soon, they were surrounded by nearly a score of bandits and several fat bandits had also climbed out of their hiding places in the sand.

"You got that right, kid!" shouted Genie, looking around at the Heartless that had surrounded them.

"We can take them, right, Montblanc?" grinned Orchid, Nearbloom appearing in her hand. The moogle just nodded as he began waving his rod around for his spells.

As if by some unanimous decision, all of the bandits lunged at the same time. They all found a nasty welcome awaiting them. A few were destroyed immediately by Aladdin's vengeful blade, while even more were knocked back by Arc's swinging fist. Orchid took on her fair share, while Montblanc helped blast them back with barriers of wind. Soon, they had cleared a circle around the tight group and the Heartless had reverted to swaying menacingly from a safe distance.

"Let's take it to 'em, Genie!" said Aladdin, grinning.

"Sure thing, Al!" exclaimed the genie, giving his former master the thumbs up. He spun in a circle, his index fingers extended. As he did, floating blue symbols, resembling Genie's face, appeared on or in front of the Heartless surrounding them, until every single one was marked. "SHOWTIME!"

The trio stared in awe as the Heartless ranks were shredded and decimated by a magical assault unlike any they'd ever seen. Thunder, ice, fire, water, wind, gravity and poison blasted all of the bandits relentlessly, destroying many of them, and also getting rid of some of the fat bandits. Recovering from their amazement, the trio and Aladdin charged the remaining Heartless, and finished them off.

"Now do we go?" asked Orchid, walking towards the cave entrance.

"I think so-" started Arc. He let out a startled noise as a hand popped out of the sand and grabbed his ankle. As he hopped away, it was followed by a body, and many other bandits began coming out of the sand all around them.

"Again, kupo?" sighed Montblanc.

"Bring it," grinned Arc manically.

"Out of my way," said Aladdin grimly.

"Encore?" asked Genie.

"Let's dance," said Orchid, getting ready to Rave.


	23. Ice in the Desert

Ah: School's out! w00t! oh yeah! Unh huh! Anyways, here's the next chap! RR! And it's kind of a longer chap than most of mine. Plus, a bonus strip:

Dar'ck: Um, hey... I got captured.  
Riku: Join the club. -shakes Dar'ck's hand-  
Dar'ck: Oh, thanks. -extends a hand to Leon-

Leon-stares at it-

Riku: Yeah, he's cold like that. I'm eternally in pain, and he's eternally alone. What's your deal?

Dar'ck: Dunno. They took my katanas... and my guns...

Leon: They took my gunblade.

Riku: Ah, well, they can't take the keyblade from me!

Leon-glares at Riku- I'll get you for that...

Dar'ck: But... i think they said something about "the grey one" or something...

Riku: Sounds ominous...

Leon: Have fun.

Elias: Hey! Less talking, more screaming/wandering/being stuck in a tube-ing!

Eriks: Who are they? and what're you doing to them?

Elias-nervous- Huh? oh, nothing. Um, you shouldn't be in here Eriks. Now be a nice little boy and go play in some other part of Hollow Bastion. Scoot!

Riku: Don't leeeeaaavee usss...

Elias: SHUT UP!

Riku-head sags- yes, Elias...

Dar'ck: Is it always like this?

Leon: Yup. Get used to it.

* * *

-

"You were awesome, Genie!" said Orchid, happily swinging around her keyblade as they walked through the tunnels in the Cave of Wonders.

"Thank you, thank you very much," said Genie, now with a white jacket, sunglasses, and the appropriate hairstyle for his charade.

"Cool it," said Aladdin, hiding his grin as he brushed past the posing Elvis. Genie's hair drooped in disappointment, then he changed back to normal and walked on.

"Hey, come look at this next room!" Orchid shouted back, having run ahead of the rest of them. Arc and Montblanc ran to catch up with her and joined her in the vapid staring.

"This," said Aladdin, walking up on the staring trio, "is the treasure room."

Piles of gold were everywhere, precious jewels and gems were scattered around like pebbles on a beach, finely wrought vessels of the rarest metals stuck out of the piles. The trio's eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets at the sight of such vast wealth.

"I wouldn't," cautioned Genie, causing Arc to stop his trembling left hand from grabbing a particularly large ruby.

"He's right," supported Aladdin. "Take anything from here, and you could cause the cave to close on us and trap us here for any number of years."

Arc and Orchid quickly shoved their hands in their pockets.

"I hear noise, kupo," said Montblanc, from where he was at the far end of the room. Everyone drifted over to the doorway he was at and could hear the cackling, wheedling voice they had heard before. Gali was in the chamber beyond.

They walked through to find a spacious cavern with three raised platforms and what looked like a mound of cooled lava in the center. On the platform opposite them was Gali, holding the Princess Jasmine in his one revealed arm. His eyes stared madly at them from across the room.

"So, you came to rescue her?" he asked. There was a puff of smoke that obscured him and the princess, and they reappeared in similar cloud in front of the platform.

"Give Jasmine back!" shouted Aladdin angrily.

"Just say the word, Al," said Genie, standing next to him. "Your wish is my grantable favor."

"I don't think so," interjected Gali, setting Jasmine down at the base of the platform. He walked forwards, his hand raised, and then he snapped his fingers casually. "Banish."

Genie let out a yelp of surprise as his body began to discarnate. He reached towards Aladdin, but before the prince could grab his hand, Genie was just a swirl of blue, then not even that.

"And since I can only do that once a day," continued Gali, holding out his hand palm out towards them, "Seal."

The cape that concealed his body ruffled in the energy that blasted from his hand and shot past Orchid and the others, to stop and expand into an arcane symbol across the doorway they had just came through.

"Now, no one can leave, and no one can enter," said Gali smugly, his slightly high voice grating on their nerves. "Not even your dear, precious genie."

"We don't need that blue sack of magic!" shouted Arc from above. He came slamming down with his stone fist, missing the lanky man by inches as Gali dodged backwards. Arc swung again and again, but each time, the man simply dodged back or tricked Arc into striking at empty cape.

"I'll get him!" yelled Orchid, having run over. She lunged with the keyblade as Gali dodged a punch from Arc, but he danced out of the way of her strike also.

"Water!" chanted Montblanc. Gali whooped in surprise as a ball of water exploded where he had just been, and then danced away form the trio's blows, cackling. His laughter was suddenly cut short as he felt cold steel rake across his back.

"Take that!" yelled Aladdin. Gali disappeared and reappeared a safe distance away from Aladdin, no longer smiling.

"I guess I'll actually have to get semi-serious," he muttered dangerously, his single exposed arm reaching back into his all encompassing cloak to pull out a saber. He charged at them.

Even with all four of them ganging up on him, Gali easily held his own. His thin, lanky, but well muscled form let him dodge their blows, gave him a better range, and inflict an enough damage that he couldn't just be brushed off lightly. It was when he began taunting them again that Arc snapped.

"That's it!" he shouted, standing up straight, raising his left hand towards the ceiling of the cave. "IFRIT!"

A giant ball of flame came slamming down behind him, shaking the whole cavern. As the dust cleared from the rocky crater, a large, horned demon stood up. He was somewhat hunchbacked, with a dark brown hide and tufts of fiery red and orange fur on his arms and legs, and a similar mane down the his head and back. Two enormous and curved horns came from his head and went down his back, framing his muscle bound figure. His coal black eyes stared at Gali, his golden bangles jangling on his wrists as he crossed his arms.

"WHAT IS YOUR WISH, MY MASTER?"

"Get him," commanded Arc grimly.

"HELLFIRE."

The demon floated upwards effortlessly, arms still crossed. He then took one hand, and made an upward slicing movement, and a pillar of fire shot up around Gali. Orchid, Aladdin and Montblanc stared as they tried to make out Gali's form amidst the flames. But Ifrit wasn't done yet. Hands extended outwards, long claws slicing the air, giant orbs of fire formed around each of Ifrit's fists. He swung them both at the column of flame, and they crashed into it, causing an explosion the likes of which Orchid had never seen. Dust and sand filled the air along with the smell of newly made glass. Arc peered into the cloud, and jumped back as three sabers, all glowing blue, flew past him, brushing his shoulders and leaving a sensation of searing cold. He turned to see them all strike Ifrit square in the chest, then go flying off back into the cloud of dust. Ifrit fell to the floor ungraciously, then faded into a spark of red light, which drifted weakly back to Arc, who turned to look back at the epicenter of the blast. The dust was clearing, and Gali was still standing, though most of his cape that had covered him had been burned away.

"That really hurt, you little punks," growled Gali, his eyes more crazed than ever. Though, it wasn't his eyes that had the group's attention. It was his arms. All four of them, all holding sabers. "I'm going to have to take this seriously."

"Something… feels hot," commented Orchid, staring at her hands.

"Kupo… I think," replied Montblanc, staring at the end of his rod, "it's because of Ifrit's having been summoned here. He is a fire elemental…"

_The fire blooms to burn away the blight_

That voice. It was starting to creep Orchid out.

"Fira!" they both exclaimed, releasing the energy that had been building. Twin comets of fire shot from them at Gali, who narrowly escaped being hit. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't escape what happened next.

The fireballs had loosed the cavern floor, and cracks snaked out across it. In moments, the floor gave way under Gali, and he fell into the ever-spreading hole. But not before grabbing Jasmine, taking the unconscious princess down with him.

"Jasmine!" yelled Aladdin, dashing to the hole in a futile effort to save her. He could only peer into its gaping darkness, and had to be pulled back by Arc as more of the rock gave way and fell down.

"So he's down there now?" asked Orchid, peering into the gloom.

"I guess so, kupo."

"Then let's go." Arc jumped down into the pit, quickly followed by Orchid and Montblanc. Aladdin hesitated, then jumped in.

"Be careful, the chamber down there is full of-" he started, landing and rolling to divert the impact. He was shocked to look around the lowest chamber of the Cave of Wonders. "-lava…"

The entire chamber glittered and sparkled with ice. They could see their breath freeze as they sighed in awe of the cold beauty. In the middle of the room, which Aladdin knew to once have been filled with moving slabs and lava, was a podiums of ice, crystallized like a glorious matrix of power, a bright, bluish glow coming from within it. Next to it stood Gali.

"So you made it. Your princess is over there," conversed Gali, pointing casually with one arm behind him. Jasmine lay by an icy gate on the wall, dropped unceremoniously in a pile. "But you'll have to get past me."

Gali brought his four sabers in to ready, each arm waving in a slow and intricate dance around him. Their speed quickened, until they were a blur, then suddenly stopped. In one hand, he held a blade of fire. In another, he held a blade of ice. In a third hand, he held a blade of lightning. In the last hand, he held a blade of wind. He began twirling them around in his hands, slowly walking towards the group as the sabers became spinning circles of red, blue, yellow, and white.

"You talk big," grinned Arc, readjusting his yellow shades, which had slipped down in the fall, "but can you fight with those toys?"

Gali's eyes took on an even wilder look at the taunt, and he sprinted forwards, waving his blades about wildly. Montbland backed away while casting barriers of air around himself, Orchid, and Aladdin, while those two both rolled out of the way of Gali's enraged onslaught. But Arc merely stood there.

"I'll kill you!" screeched Gali. The blades flashed and there was an explosion of flames, ice, and lightning. When it cleared, Gali was standing there, a smirk on his face, blood dripping from his blades. Arc was pierced in the right leg, the left arm, and the right shoulder. But he was grinning smugly. Gali's eyes widened. "What…?"

There was a sickening crack as Arc easily broke one of the man's twiggy arms in the grasp of his stone gauntlet. Gali screamed in pain and backed away, the arm that had held the windy blade swinging limp at his side. But he still had three others, and Arc was bleeding profusely.

"Water!" shouted Orchid, and Gali reeled from the blow as the high-pressure sphere of water that had formed around him exploded. While fending off Arc and Orchid distracted Gali, and Montblanc used support magic, Aladdin made a dash for the princess.

"I don't think so!" cackled Gali, turning his head towards the thief. There was a puff of smoke, obscuring him from Arc and Orchid, and he reappeared in another puff between Aladdin and Jasmine. "You bother me. Die."

Gali swung, and Aladdin just barely managed to parry the blow with his scimitar. But he took the next blade full in the side. Aladdin cried out in pain as it cut deeply into him, and screamed even louder as he was struck again. Gali stood with a sadistic smile on his face as cut after cut rained down on the prince, a flurry of steel, all happening in the time it took Arc, Orchid, and Montblanc to turn and start running towards them. Gali finally stopped as Aladdin fell to his knees, only to raise one of his blades, preparing for the finishing blow.

"Damn it! We can't make it in time!" shouted Arc as they sprinted to them, almost to the crystal podium, which was halfway across the room.

"I can," said Orchid grimly, bracing herself. "Moonlight Rave!"

She became a blur of motion, then exploded forwards in a burst of speed. All Aladdin felt was a rush of air. Gali felt much more. He yelled in pain as his arm, which had almost completed its path to Aladdin's throat, twisted in an unnatural angle, struck by the keyblade. Orchid skidded to a halt behind him on the ice, Nearbloom held tightly in her hand. "Step!"

She disappeared once more in a blur of speed, slamming into Gali from behind, two of his arms swinging loosely as he flew past Aladdin, who had thrown himself flat. He came crashing down on the hardened ice as Orchid came back into view ahead of him, turning once more in a graceful motion as he stood up. "Step!"

She disappeared again as she reached the supersonic, the realm where all that existed was her and the target. Gali reeled as she made contact with him again, and came briefly into view when she turned. "Step!"

Gali cried out as one of his two remaining sabers was knocked away.

"Step!"

He yelled in frustration as his other saber was knocked in the other direction.

"Step!"

He cried out in pain, as one of his arms was broken.

"Finale!"

Explosions rang out all around Gali, and he fell to his knees as the smoke cleared and Orchid came to a halt behind him and turned. She walked slowly up as he turned pitifully to face her, barely able to hold himself up with both legs and his remaining useful arm. He flinched as Nearbloom came dangerously close to his face.

"We want to know what's going on," growled Orchid vehemently, "and you're going to tell us."

"You really think so?" taunted Gali, the fear in his eyes quickly being replaced with his crazed and cocky attitude. "Then think again."

There was a puff of smoke as he disappeared, Orchid lunging just barely too slowly to catch him. He reappeared by the Princess Jasmine, and a dark portal opened behind him. Orchid could see high, vaulted ceilings, stonework, and gloom as she looked through. He picked up the unmoving girl in his one remaining good arm, and stood weakly.

"Later, little blossom!" he said, then stepped through. Aladdin and Orchid both scrambled towards it, but the portal closed before either could reach it. Orchid stood there silently as Arc and Montblanc ran up to her, and Aladdin knelt on the icy floor, cursing as tears trickled down his face.

"I can't believe he got away!" raged Arc, swinging his fist around.

"Kupo…" said Montblanc softly, looking up into Orchid's face. To him she looked more shocked than angry, which struck him as odd. "What's wrong?"

"I…" whispered Orchid, here face blank, "I thought I felt _him_ nearby…"

-

Elias stared at the pitiful, broken figure before him.

"I brought the princess, Master Elias," groveled Gali, kneeling on the floor, his broken limbs in a mess around him.

"But you didn't destroy the keyblade master," said Elias coldly, his revealed face an opposite of the stylized smile on the mask that covered the other half of his face. He turned to the boy standing beside him. "Eriks, take the princess to the Great Hall." He turned back to Gali. "As for you…"

"Master! Master, please!" pleaded the man pitifully.

"Light. Dark. Obliterate."

Eriks stood there, still staring blankly as Gali screamed. He continued to stand there motionlessly even after the tainted soul was gone.

"Eriks?" questioned Elias, turning back to the boy. "What's wrong? I told you to take the princess."

"I…" he whispered, his eyes distant, "I thought I felt _her_ near…"

-

"So why's it all like this?" asked Arc, wandering around the icy room.

"I don't know…" muttered Aladdin, "and I really don't care."

"Maybe, kupo… it has to do with this crystal formation," supplied Montblanc, looking at the podium of ice in the center of the room.

Orchid walked forwards to it. It seemed to draw her, and it pulsed brighter as she came closer. Like something was calling her, and she was calling it.

Release me.

Orchid started suddenly, surprised at the voice in her head. She looked around, but the other three showed no sign of having heard it. She looked back to the ice formation and edged closer.

Free me from my prison, and I shall be yours, my master.

Orchid stared hard at the ice. She knew what to do. She reached her hand in among the icy shards and grabbed onto the pulsing crystal in the middle. It pulsed strongly in her hand, radiating cold.

Thank you.

She quickly put it in a pocket, then began walking back to the others. She was brought up short when the cavern began to shake.

"What's happening?" demanded Arc.

"The lava!" exclaimed Aladdin, pointing. Sure enough, there was a reddish glow building up beneath the ice. In everyone's opinion, it looked rather foreboding.

"How do we get out of here?" panicked Arc.

"Genie here, how may I be of service?" asked the overly animated being as he appeared besides them, stepping aside as various rocks and icicles fell.

"Get us out of here!"  
"Sure thing, Al!" shouted Genie, now shaped like a cartoon toy plane. "Hop aboard!"

They all quickly climbed onto Genie, only sighing in relief when he got airborne and headed for the hole in the ceiling.

"Thank you for flying Magical Airlines, I'm Genie, and I'll be your captain, stewardess, baggage man, and plane for today. Please buckle your seatbelts and take note that I've put on the no-smoking sign. Thank you, and have a nice flight."  
"Just get us out of here already!" they all shouted.

"All right, all right… sheesh."

-

"Well, it's too bad we couldn't help Aladdin," sighed Orchid, looking down on Agrabah from space as the gummi ship prepared to launch.

"Yeah, well, some things can't be helped," said Arc, pressing various buttons and pulling different levers as he checked all the systems.

"Kupo… who was that, that you saw down there, kupo?" asked Montblanc timidly, wondering if Arc was ready to talk about it.

"It was… an old friend that I hadn't seen in a while…" said Arc softly, pausing in his work. It was silent for a moment, then he went back to setting the ships course. He obviously wasn't going to say more.

"What's his problem?" muttered Orchid.

What _was_ he hiding?


	24. Cold Goddess and Fighting to Fight

Man...: Word's not working... so i'm reduced to wordpad... sigh... anyways, I finally updated again! and, I'd like to thank our newest reader, Demon Surfer! yeah! DS has a really cool story too, Crystal Hearts! yeah! other good stories are the ones that i've mentioned earlier in this fic, and Legend of Kingdom Hearts, which is a KH Zelda crossover, that pulls it off quite smoothly. It's good! and everybody, read Katie's fic Nakineiri Itami, though her Fanfic name is Nekodoshi. She doesn't update often, though she posts a lot when she does, so the easiest way to get to her story is by going to my profile and going to fave stories. Yeah, that's all the advertising for today! Now, RR, yeah!  
-

-

"Hey, old man!" shouted Arc, pushing aside the moth-eaten curtain as he stepped inside. Orchid and Montblanc came into the wizard's house soon after.

"What do you want, you little hooligan?" answered Merlin crankily. It seemed to Orchid that Arc and him would always be on different sides of every fence you could imagine, and that nothing short of a local apocalypse might make them jump it.

"We're just here to visit and ask for advice, kupo," replied Montblanc, trying to smooth over their rough entrance.

"Fine, fine. Please, take a seat," said Merlin, gesturing to the chairs around the table. As they sat down, he asked, "So what do you need to know?"

"I want to know about the keyblade," asked Orchid. "I mean, it keeps changing, and now my two key chains don't work."

"Hmm…" muttered Merlin. "Could you tell me exactly the order of what forms you had, and when they occurred, relative to each other?"  
Arc and Orchid stared blankly at the mage, so Montblanc took the initiative to explain. "First was Bramblebite, with no chain, kupo. Then, she got the Vorpal Blade, which was a keychain that worked on it. Then, we took the keychain off, and it later became Vineguard. Kupopo…I think that if we had tried, the Vorpal Blade chain wouldn't have worked on it. Well, then we got Spellweaver, which incorporated the scroll for the Vorpal Blade, so I guess it could be considered the same chain, kupo. Then we switched it to Poison Ivy, a new chain. Then the keyblade grew into Nearbloom, and the two key chains, kupo, Poison Ivy and Spellweaver don't work."

"I see…" murmured Merlin as he scribbled on a piece of paper. When he finished, he held it up for them. There were three lines, each with circles on it at different levels. "Here, look. I think this is how it works. You have the three branches, the normal with no chain, the spell chain, and the attack chain. Then, there are the different levels. Bramblebite and the Vorpal Blade are one level, Vineguard, Spellweaver, and Poison Ivy are on another, and Nearbloom is on the third level. Basically, you can only use key chains that are on the same level as the basic keyblade, without the chain."

"What a long winded load of nonsense," grumbled Arc, clearly bored out of his mind.

"I think I got it," said Orchid. "So I need to get better versions of Spellweaver and Poison Ivy before I can use them again?"

"That's exactly it," answered Merlin.

"And until then, you can't use the spells connected with them, kupo," added Montblanc. "No Demi from Spellweaver and no Poison from Poison Ivy."

"Huh. Oh, well," sighed Orchid. Then she suddenly perked up and started rooting through her pockets. "I just remembered something… where is it? Um… ah, here it is!"

She held out the blue ice-like crystal that radiated cold, the one she had taken from the Cave of Wonders. She placed it on the table, where it gently pulsed with a frozen light.

"Is that a summon gem, kupo?" asked Montblanc, his antenna pompom bouncing with curiosity.

"Like the one Ifrit was in?" asked Arc. He had checked earlier that day to find that, much to his relief, Ifrit was still with him, though he wasn't quite ready for action yet.

"Mmm, yes," replied Merlin, adjusting his spectacles and holding the gem up to the light, turning it this way and that. "You should give it to the Fairy Godmother to release."

The trio turned in their seats and got up, walking down the stairs of the raised platform while the toy carriage went up in cloud of smokes and sparks, clearing to reveal the Fairy Godmother. Orchid walked up to her and handed her the gem.

"Oh, another one? Maybe this one will be a little more polite," said the lady quietly as she set the crystal to hovering in front of her, where she stared intently at it. "Hmm? Oh, you're welcome. Yes, I'm sure she'll appreciate you."

With a flick of her wand, the crystal broke apart into glittering shards, breaking smaller and smaller until they were mere sparkles in the air. Then it happened. Cold wind stirred up, scattering the sparks around, until the room was filled with howling wind, laced with glittering, snowy particles. Arc and Montblanc both shielded their faces from this frigid onslaught, but Orchid stood transfixed, staring into the miniature blizzard that had come up.

Thank you for releasing me. How may I serve you, young master?

Orchid could feel the presence of the icy being. It felt of many things; it was cold, graceful, majestic, feminine, and above all, powerful. "What is your name?"

I am Shiva, the Spirit Goddess of Ice.

"My name's Orchid. Pleased to meetcha," replied Orchid politely. "Well, there's nothing for you here now, so you can go now."

The icy wind began to focus around her, swirling around, getting smaller and smaller, until it was a spindly funnel of cold, which siphoned into her front, then disappeared, a goddess only waiting to be summoned.

"Well, I don't have anything important to talk with the old man about, how 'bout you?" asked Arc, brushing some frost off of the front of his black shirt and white trench coat.

"No, I'm done," replied Orchid.

"Same, kupo," added Montblanc.

"Well, good luck then," said the Fairy Godmother. "Take good care of her, and make sure to come to me if you find any other summon gems."

"Be seeing you," waved Merlin as they walked out.

-

"And why should I give it to you?"

"Because we want to enter and you don't!"

"Zelly, you aren't being vewy nice…"

"Just give it to them, Zell," sighed Sora, poking at his dinner with a fork. By now, the raviolis were chock full of holes.

"Hey, it's my entry form, and I'm not giving it away for free!" growled Zell, his hand set firmly on the sheet in front of him. "I won it fair and square, so I'm not giving it away."

"But what's the point if you're not going to use it?" asked Yuffie around a mouthful of spaghetti.

"She's got a point there," said Sora, wishing they would quit arguing already.

"Yeah, she does!" pouted Rikku.

"What's up?" asked Arc as he, Montblanc and Orchid walked up.

"This jerk won't hand over that sheet!" shouted Yuffie, pointing at the paper Zell was holding down.

"What is it?" asked Orchid, looking curiously.

"A registration form," said Zell shortly, taking a bite of his hotdog. Trust Zell to get a hot dog even if you take him to semi-nice restaurant like the Café.

"Registration for what, kupo?" asked Montblanc.

"The new tournament at the Olympus Coliseum," replied Sora. "It's time for this year's Pegasus Cup."

"We shouldn't need a registration sheet, right?" Orchid asked Montblanc. "We're certified Junior Heroes."

"Doesn't matter," corrected Sora. "Phil's got a real crowd this year, and to thin it, he only had ten registration sheets handed out in different contests. If you don't have a sheet, you can't get in."

"And Zell got one?" asked Arc, watching as the man in question smacked away Yuffie's hand from the sheet.

"Yeah," replied Zell. "I won it in a martial arts tournament they had here. Along with some munny."

"Hey, can we have it?" asked Orchid hopefully.

"We asked first!" cried Rikku and Yuffie in unison. Suddenly, Zell brightened up and smirked.

"I have an idea," he said with a grin.

"Wow, now isn't that just amazing?" groaned Arc dryly.

"Hey!" snapped Zell. He took another bite out of his hot dog and everyone else stared at him while he chewed.

"Well?" they all shouted impatiently at him.

"Well," he started, swallowing quickly, "I suggest that you guys fight for it."

"What?" said Orchid incredulously.

"Sound's good to me," replied Arc.

"Okees!" agreed Rikku.

"You're going down, Arc!" grinned Yuffie, standing up. "No one beats the Great Ninja Yuffie!"

"I wish I could fight…" mumbled Sora, dejectedly continuing to mangle his pasta.

"Then it's settled!" said Zell. Rikku and Yuffie quickly finished their dinners and stood up. As they walked around the table and out to the open square of First District, where the trio was already standing, Zell announced his rules. "No time limit, no killing of course, no boundaries, and you win when the other side gives up, is unconscious, unable to fight, or has all members down for a count of 10."

"They got more people than us, Yuff," complained Rikku as she strapped on her claws and Yuffie pulled out her oversized shuriken.

"Not my fault," brushed off Arc as he stretched, swinging his right arm around to limber it up. "A lot of the teams at the coliseum will have more than two people."

"And, go!" shouted Zell.

Arc ran forwards at them, only to be forced to stop short and block as Yuffie's shuriken flew at him. It struck his stone gauntlet, and whizzed away, and came flying back to Yuffie's hand. Arc leapt into the air for an attack from above and came smashing down, only to find Yuffie had taken to the air also. She landed lithely on top of a street light, only to be almost shaken off as Arc smashed his fist into it.

Orchid and Montblanc were having a similarly difficult time with Rikku. Between her ability to outrun Orchid and dodge most of Montblanc's spells, they weren't getting much done. The only time she stopped running was to turn and throw a grenade at them, which just gave her more time to get away while they ran away from the blast radius. Montblanc decided to move to his most accurate spell then.

"Thunder!" he shouted, raising his rod aloft. A bolt of lighting came crashing down in front of Rikku as she stopped just short of being struck. But instead of continuing her running away, she just fell down, and sat on her behind, trembling all over.

"Rikku?" asked Orchid, edging towards her cautiously. The older girl was now huddled in a ball, hugging her knees and whimpering. "Rikku, what's wrong?"

Meanwhile, Arc had managed to dislodge Yuffie from the lamppost, but now had to deal with the constant attacks of her shuriken.

"Give it up, Arc" she yelled as she threw it once more.

"Not in this lifetime" shouted Arc back. As he did, the fingers of his stone hand clamped down on the thrown shuriken, stopping it. Yuffie stared open-mouthed as he threw the weapon to the ground, then charged at her.

"Can't we talk this over" she cried as she ducked under a punch. She slid past Arc, then turned and kicked him square in the back. Taking advantage of this, she dashed off to retrieve her shuriken. What she underestimated was Arc's reach.

"Get back here" he raged as his arm swung behind him, slamming into the ninja's side. Yuffie let out a grunt of pain as she went skidding across the stonework.

"Ow, that really" she stopped as she got up, only to come face to face with Arc, who had dashed over to where she had landed. "Oh, hey..."

"So when you were little, you were hit by lightning" asked Orchid with concern, leaning over the curled up girl. Rikku nodded.

"Yeah. My brother tried to hit a water monster, but he missed and hit me instead" she cried, still shaking.

"Well, it makes sense to hit water with lightning, kupo" commented Montblanc as he walked over.

"That's not helping" said Orchid as she tried to comfort the somewhat traumatized older girl.

"Hey, guys! I got this one? How 'bout you" asked Arc. He was sitting on Yuffie's back, pinning down both of her arms as she struggled and flailed her legs around.

"Uh... Rikku's kind of out of it..." shouted back Orchid, looking down at the trembling mass.

"Not fair! Not fair" yelled the captive Yuffie. "You can't use her childhood fear against her"

"How were we supposed to know" groaned Arc.

"Yeah, Yuffie, it's not their fault" said Zell, walking over. "I'm giving it to them. Besides, you were beaten fair and square. If he really wanted to, Arc could have knocked you out and helped them with Rikku if she hadn't curled up."

"Fine" huffed the ninja as Arc finally got off her and let her up. She brushed herself off and walked over to Orchid as she helped Rikku stand up.

"Sorry about that" Rikku said to Yuffie, smiling weakly.

"Aw, it's okay" smiled back Yuffie. "We'll just have to train harder. Oh, and, Orchid"

Orchid turned to face the ninja, who had extended a hand. In it, was a glowing, light blue orb of energy.

"Is that..." she asked, trailing off as she looked at it. Yuffie nodded, and dropped it into Orchid's extended hand. It felt cold. Orchid took a deep breath, then pulled the sphere of magic close into her chest, where it was absorbed. A shock of stunning cold ran through her body for a moment, then was gone. She turned and extended a hand towards an unoffending garbage can, concentrating on the spell. "Blizzara"

A raging torrent of cold flooded from her palm, spraying ice and snow all over everything in front of her. When it finished, there was a thin layer of ice covering all of the ground in between her and the garbage can, which was frozen over.

"Cool" said Orchid, grinning broadly.

"Very" added Arc dryly.

"Well, as much as I enjoy the magic show, you guys should get going" interrupted Zell. "You might not have noticed, but you have to be registered by tomorrow."

"What" asked Arc, Orchid, and Montblanc at the same time.

"Yeah" confirmed Zell.

"But it takes almost a full day to get to the Coliseum" worried Orchid.

"We better get going, kupo" exclaimed Montblanc.

"Outta my way, outta my way" shouted Arc as he headed for the gates.

"Well, at least someone has something to worry about" grinned Sora as he bit into another ravioli.


	25. Opposite Armor Redux

New Blood: Here's the next chap, which i did today especially in celebration of another new reader, Zanisha! w00t! oh yeah!

anyways, this chap isn't really that great, though I needed to get some of the stuff done. The fight's actually pretty decent, though I think I need a push broom to sweep out all the corn left after the ending. That corny.

Finally: Next world is gonna kick major a! We get to see everybody's (or at least my) favorite blonde boys duke it out next world! And, I get to twist your perception of evil all around! Hahahaha... jail rhymes with whale.

ah, well, RR! yeah!

Dar'ck: What's happening to me now?

Doomboy2000: Why would i know?

Dar'ck: Because you're the author!

Doomboy2000: Well, it's a secret.

Dar'ck: but even I don't know what's happening to me! and I'm the one it's happening to!

Elias: What the hell are you doing? get back here!

Dar'ck: heeeeelp meeeee...

Doomboy2000: ah well, RR people, or you may never know what happens to poor Dar'ck here.

* * *

-

"We made it..." panted Arc.

"Just barely..." replied Orchid, trying to catch her breath.

"You guys got the form" asked Phil, grinning at the tired trio.

"Kupo..." squeaked Montblanc as he held out the piece of paper, all filled out.

"Good, good. Everything seems to be in order" murmured Phil as he skimmed over the registration sheet. "Okay, go ahead. You guys can get ready in one of the rooms down the hall. You'll be up first, and have to fight all nine matches if you aim to win."

"This isn't round robin is it" asked Arc in exasperation as his breathing became normal.

"And it's not tier either, since only ten groups entered, kupo" observed Montblanc.

"It's neither" replied Phil. "It's first come, first served."

"What's that mean" asked Orchid.

"It means, since you came last, you and the group before you fight" explained the satyr. "Then, whoever wins gets to fight the group that arrived eighth. Winner of that fights the group that arrived seventh. And so on and so on."

"That's not fair" shouted Orchid.

"Yeah" agreed Arc, the annoyed sound of grinding stone coming from his fist. "We have to fight everyone, but whoever got here first only fights once."

"Well, you should of got here earlier" shrugged Phil. Then he muttered"Then again, they all came in a group a few days ago. Summore a' those freaks."

"Great...Heartless" sighed the trio. They walked off down the halls and crashed in one of the rooms that had been provided. It was going to be a long day, and they needed their rest.

-

"Hey, Phil" said Hercules, walking over to the satyr.

"Yeah, Herc" asked the goat man absently, busy watching the trio fight their way through the fifth match.

"Do you ever wonder what happened to the good fighters we used to have here" question the hero.

"Sometimes" answered Phil, watching exitedly as a powerwild almost caught Arc unawares. "I mean, we know that Squall's been captured. And we just heard about Yuffie too."

"But I wonder where Cloud is" pondered Hercules idly. "Or Sephiroth."

"Brrr" shuddered the satyr. "That's one creep I won't miss, no matter how well he fought"

"Hmmm..." murmured Hercules. He watched as the trio finished off the enemy and the fourth seed came trundling out to fight. "Do you think we should tell them about the last fight"

"Why? They fought it before."

"Well, I mean, shouldn't we tell them about the change they added"

"Nah, let 'em find out for themselves. Their surprise will be half the fun of watching."

"If you say so, Phil."

-

"Alright, last match" whooped Orchid happily, throwing Nearbloom up in the air like a baton and catching it again."Yeah, I hope this one's more challenging though" muttered Arc sourly. There was the sound of grinding stone as he stood around impatiently.

"Be careful what you wish for, kupo" cautioned Montblanc.

"Last match" yelled Phil from the sidelines. "It's the Opposite Armor"

"Not him again" sighed Orchid. The ground shuddered as the various armored parts of the Heartless materialized before them and the clawed feet slammed to the ground.

"And fight"

As per usual, the Opposite Armor split off into its three units and went after each of them. The trio was sure it would be an easy fight, until a certain problem came up.

"Blizzara" yelled Montblanc, firing off the cold spell at the bulky claws, which had chosen to chase him. The icy cold winds and shards of frozen water slammed into the boots-turned-hands, but merely frosted them over and bounced off with no apparent effect. With a surprised squeak, the moogle quickly turned and beat a hasty retreat.

While Arc was having fun wrestling the gauntlets-turned-feet, Orchid was about to encounter Montblanc's problem. The torso and head had turned diagnol, and was aimed like a cannon at her, and she could see the energy gathering inside of it, preparing for the blast. When it looked ready to explode, the Heartless finally fired off its charge, and the ball of energy came hurtling towards the girl.

"Aero" shouted Orchid as the blast came her way. She readied her keyblade, prepared to send the blast flying back when it hit the barrier. Unfortunately, she wasn't prepared for the blast the hurl through the wall of wind as if it were no more substantial than the air it was made of. With a surprised cry, the teenage girl leapt out of the way of the missile, and was sent flying by the following explosion. She landed with an "oof" on top of something small, soft, and furry.

"Kupopo... could you get off me, please" moaned the squished moogle.

"Ack! I'm sorry" Orchid apologized hastily, jumping off the squished mage, then helping him up.

"I think... the armor now has a resistance to magic..." mumbled Montblanc as he quickly healed them.

"You're telling me" shouted Orchid as she ran away from the claws, which had just caught up with them. Montblanc ran in a different direction, and sighed in relief as he saw the torso and claws go after Orchid. He knew he would be useless to attack the Heartless, so he decided to stay back and heal his companions while they dealt with it.

"This is great" yelled Arc as the feet burst into inky sparks of darkness.

"You're crazy" screamed back Orchid as she narrowly missed being hit by the claws, which were performing a swirling circle of pain in the air.

"Lemme help you" grinned Arc, reaching up and catching one of the bulky claws in his own stony gauntlet. He quickly threw it to the ground and proceeded to pummel it. "I've got these two, go for the head"

"Gotcha" agreed Orchid as she ran off towards the torso and helmet. She said to it"Bring it on"

The torso took her invitation and proceed to spin around in crazy gyres, occasionally hitting Orchid, but mostly just earning itself multiple blows from Nearbloom. It finally stopped, and lowered itself, opening aimed at Orchid to fire at point blank.

"Oh, no you don't" grinned Orchid as she leapt up, grabbing a hand onto the upper rim. She flipped herself up so that she was standing on top of the armor and ran up it to get at the head. Unfortunately, the Heartless didn't seem pleased about this turn of events, and began twisting and spinning crazily, flinging Orchid off. Orchid barely had time to yell as she saw the tiled floor of the arena closing in on her.

"Aero" shouted Montblanc, rod pointed at the girl as he ran towards her. A blast of wind released itself from his weapon and shot out towards the falling Orchid. It made contact, but instead of striking her, it embraced her and held her aloft, then sped her back towards the infuriated Opposite Armor's head. Soon, Orchid was in reach of the baleful helm.

"Take this" she yelled as she leapt off the gust of air and onto the armor. She landed, striking the horned helmet hard. She quickly kicked up the visor and stared down into the glaring yellow eyes, the eyes of the Heartless. "Checkmate."

She plunged the keyblade down into the inky depths of the armored feind and was rewarded as the armor began to shake convulsively. Soon, its trembling became enough to fling Orchid off, leaving Nearbloom stuck in its head.

"Hey, no dying" joked Arc as he caught the once more falling girl in his arms. He set her down as they watched beams of light shoot out from inside the mortally wounded Heartless. Finally, it exploded into millions of particles of darkness, which then syphoned back into the keyblade. Nearbloom hung in the air momentarily, shot back to Orchid's hand as she called it, where it pulsed gently from its new energy.

"We win."

-

"Nice job, you guys" congratulated Hercules.

"Thanks" said Orchid.

"Well, that was fun, but we should be going" sighed Arc, his eyes smiling at the hero over his yellow tinted lenses.

"Yeah" agreed Montblanc. "If we can follow Sora's story, we should be seeing Monstro soon, kupo"

"Probably not."

The trio turned to look at Phil.

"Kupopopo... why not" asked the moogle.

"Because no one's seen that lump a' blubber for at least a coupla' years" answered the satyr gruffly.

"Yeah, no one knows where he went" supported Hercules.

"The arrangements of the stars and worlds have changed a goodly bit over the past four years since Sora travelled them" continued Phil. "They say there's some sort of floating fortress there now."

"Yeah, I know of at least one other world that we'll probably go to that Sora didn't encounter, if we're going back to Hollow Bastion, that is" agreed Arc.

"Well, it doesn't matter" grinned Orchid. "If it's something new, it's just that much more exciting, right"

"Yeah" agreed her two companions.

"Well, take this" offered Hercules. In his hand he held a silvery ball of flashing lights, like a orb full of shooting stars and power.

"Hey, that looks like the thingy that Marche gave you" observed Arc, looking at the sphere with interest.

"What is it exactly" asked Orchid curiously as the hero dropped it in her hand.

"It's a special attack" answered Hercules, grinning. "It'll help you attack airborne foes."

"Cool, that's always helpful" thanked Orchid as she pulled the ball of energy into her. Inside, it felt like a million stars of energy had gone off in her, and for a moment, she felt she could take on anything in the universe.

"And take this too" grumbled Phil, reluctantly holding out a ball of energy after Hercules nudged him. This one was yellow, and seemed to spark with electricity. "It's thundara, and will upgrade you guys's thunder spell."

"Thank you" said Orchid as she took the proffered magic, smiling sweetly at the gruff satyr, who turned away, embarrassed and mumbling something about getting soft.

"Well, now we should go" said Arc, eager to be off.

"Thanks for warning us about the changes, kupo" shouted Montblanc to the two Olympians as they headed off to their gummi ship.

"I think they'll go far, Phil" smiled Hercules. "I really do."


	26. Dreams of the Lost

Yatta: Finally, one of my cool worlds! If you get confused when I talk about the two prisoners and start confusing the two, it's okay; I was trying for that. Anyways, next chapter is my first songfic chapter, and I hope it's cool. If you email me, i can send you the song i'll use (Though it'll be in two parts...). I highly doubt you'll have the song, and it's impossible to find to download. Anyways, next chap, I also get to finally reveal my mysterious turn about. Yeah! Now, enjoy! and tell me about it in your reviews! And a Montblanc plushie to anyone who can name the two prisoners before i post again!

* * *

-

"What's that up ahead?" asked Orchid, pointing to a dark shape outside the gummi ship.

They all looked out the window to where she was pointing. There, floating in space, was what appeared to be a free floating complex. The building was mostly circular, with occasional other wings poking out in different directions. The stark stone walls, combined with the search lights that swept over the place and the eternal pallor of night that surrounded it, gave it the look of some sort of foreboding prison. Dim light poured out through rough rectangluar windows in the walls, almost all of them with bars over them. The whole thing was seated upon what looked like a floating chunk of dark, blackened ground.

"I think that's the floating fortress they were talking about, kupo" answered Montblanc.

"Looks more like a jail, or a prison" grumbled Arc. He suddenly leaned forwards towards the control panel as a little red light went off and cursed under his breath. "Damn. We got bogies behind us"

Orchid quickly hopped into the copilot's seat as Arc started activating the thrusters and guns. Meanwhile, Montblanc strapped himself into one of the other chairs, prepared for a bumpy ride. Orchid took the controls of the guns as the Heartless ships chasing them closed in.

As Orchid fired at the attacking ships, Arc did his best to dodge and outrun them. They were quickly closing in on the huge prison and the land it was on.

"I'm taking us under" shouted Arc over the sound of firing guns and explosions as he pushed forwards on the steering wheel. The gummi ship took a steep dive and headed under the whole prison, flattening out to fly along closely among the crumbling and jagged ground beneath. Many of the Heartless ships that followed crashed into the land, and those that didn't were quickly shot down by Orchid.

"Whew" sighed Orchid, leaning back in her chair as they slowed, all of the enemies defeated. They cruised slowly along under the new demi-world, waiting to come out the other side. Suddenly, something caught her eye. "What's that"

The three of them looked out the round window of the cockpit, and stared at the pulsing mass. Enormously large, the pulsing sphere radiated energy as they passed near.

"I think... that's the world's heart, kupo..." said Montblanc quietly as they stared in awe at the gigantic thing.

"But... it looks all blackened..." responded Orchid. Sure enough, the whole pulsing orb was nearly half black, the other half being a roiling white which fought with the darkness. "This world's going to be swallowed by the darkness"

"Not if we hurry, kupo" said Montblanc.

Arc quickly upped the thruster power so they could get out from under the demi-world as soon as possible, but something was bugging him. He could have sworn that he saw the light side winning, and the darkness disappearing. If so, why did he still feel a sense of urgency to help? He shrugged it off as they pulled up and circled the complex, looking for a place to land.

-

He stirred fitfully in his cell. Something was wrong. This had been the first time he'd been truly awake since he got here. Sure, he'd been into that fuzzy state where he was almost aware of what was there, or in that state where he thought he was awake. But then, he'd either just drift off again, or waste his time digging up the past. Then, something had been looping his mind, forcing it to walk the same trodden paths of sorrow and regret, not letting him actually think. But now he could.

The first thing he did was look for guards. There were none. Strange, they had always been there before when he had opened his eyes. Before he could begin to ponder this, he began to drift off again. He tried to resist. He couldn't go back yet. As much as he liked to see the world of his dreams, he was awake now, and he knew those dreams weren't real. Only this, the harsh walls of his cell, the dim lights and the stale air was real. These shackles were real. His imprisonment was real. As his mind began to dwell on the general feeling of depression again, he became dimly aware that he was no longer being forced into unconsciousness again. As long as he didn't try to fully surface, he wouldn't be pushed down into dreams again. And so he waited, letting his uppermost thoughts continue to wander fuzzily. He knew someone would be coming soon. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. And so he waited.

-

In another cell, in a different part of the prison, another inmate stirred. He frowned, then suddenly began to smile. As satisfying as his dreams had been, it dawned on him that they were just that: dreams. This was real. The visions before weren't. He knew his chance would be coming soon. Then he could go and seek out his revenge. Until then, he could do nothing. So he waited.

-

"This place is creepy" shuddered Orchid as they walked through the hallways. The lighting was dim, and shadows lurked in every corner. The cement walls, floor, and ceiling were grimy with neglect. Occasionally, something would stir in the cells they passed, and they would hurry quickly past, but mostly only skeletal prisoners would remain. "Where is this anyways"

"There was a sign outside that said '7th Heaven', kupo" supplied Montblanc.

"I didn't see that" said Orchid. "Did you, Arc"

The man shook his head. Then he blinked. "I remember now... I think I've heard of this place."

"You have" asked the other two eagerly.

"Yeah" said Arc. "7th Heaven, the Prison of Dreams, the Bastille of Hollow Bastion. It was supposed to be where dangerous criminals were kept, the ones too dangerous to keep in the prison in Hollow Bastion. It's supposed to be heavily guarded."

"Doesn't look that way" pointed out Orchid.

"Well, it doesn't matter" continued Arc. "Even without the guards, it's secure enough. They keep people imprisoned by trapping them in their dreams."

"What" asked the other two.

"Yeah. By keeping the prisoners in a mostly unconscious state, trapped by their own longings, regrets, and desires, the prisoners are never awake enough to try to escape. But if the gaurds are gone, then the Dream Matrix, the machine that keeps them that way, might be failing too."

"Umm... so we're in a prison full of deadly convicts, right" asked Orchid nervously.

"Yeah" asked Arc, wondering where she was going with this.

"And the thingy that keeps them in their cells might be failing, right" continued Orchid.

"And"

"How is this safe? For us, I mean"

"Kupopo... she's got a point" supported Montblanc.

"It isn't" answered Arc simply. "But if we're fighting the Heartless to save the worlds, can you really expect it to be safe"

They continued on in silence, Orchid starting at the slightest noise, expecting some crazed murderer or some Heartless animated skeleton to leap out at her. Suddenly, they all stopped at the sound of a weakened voice.

"Help...me..."

They turned and stared into the dark cell. The shadows covered almost all of the prisoner; they could only see his legs and boots, and locks of spiky blonde hair that stuck out of the dark.

"Is that you" asked Arc, staring in surprise at the man. There was an almost imperceptible nod in the gloom.

"Arc..." the voice whispered hoarsly.

"It is you" stated Arc simply. "So this is where you've been."

"Who is that, kupo" questioned Montblanc.

"Yeah, who" repeated Orchid.

"No time..." rasped the man inside. He sounded as if he was struggling to stay alive, or awake. "You've got to get me out of here...now..."

"How do we do this" asked Arc quickly, cutting off any protest from the other two.

"Continue following the hall" said the man quickly. "It should take you to the central control room. There... there, you'll need to find and turn off the Dream Matrix. I'll find you after that."

"Got it" nodded Arc.

"Hurry... there isn't much time..." moaned the prisoner as he fell back into dreams. "They... they're coming..."

Arc quickly strode off down the hall, Orchid following quickly behind him, and Montblanc quickly running after them after hesitating to cast Cure on the unfortunate captive.

"Are we just going to obey some random criminal" asked Orchid.

"Yes, and he's not a criminal" explained Arc, rushing down the corridors, ignoring the fitful grumbles of half-waking prisoners. "He's an old friend."

"Can we trust him, kupo" asked Montblanc.

"Sora did, so I can't see why not."

They finally came to a door at the end of the hallway. There was a crooked sign bolted into the metal that declared "Officers only! No horn-freakz" They weren't quite sure what the last part was about, but they decided that this was the control room they were looking for. Arc quickly kicked in the door and they all took fighting positions, not sure what to expect.

"Wedge! Go check out that noise"

They looked around the corner. Piles of clutter, combined with shelves and filing cabinets had turned what had probably been an open and round room into a cramped space with its own entry hall, preventing those at the controls from seeing who entered. Arc snorted derisively at the unproffesional mess. Momentarily, a somewhat lankey man wearing a blue soldier's skintight fighting uniform came around the bend and into their sight. He wore a strange helmet that covered his eyes and they were surprised he could see until they noticed the helm had three red lenses in it where his eyes were. The man started in surprise when he saw the trio standing there.

"S-sergeant Biggs! Intr-truders" he stammered, backing away and waving his sword at them nervously. He then turned around and ran off, probably to report to the man he had mentioned.

"Well, so much for the element of surprise" sighed Orchid as they walked down the maze of clutter and junk. They turned the corner and come out into the main area, which was only slightly less cluttered. A mattress sat in one corner, and garbage and scraps of paper were strewn about. The man they had seen earlier was busily trying to rouse a larger man, who was grumbling grumpily from his seat at the control panels. Several screens on the wall showed pictures of the inside of the prison, but most of them flickered uselessly with static.

"What the hell are you yellin' about, Wedge" demanded the larger man, finally getting up. He too wore a soldier's uniform, though his was red, and he actually had some muscles for it to display. He wore a blockier helmet, which also covered his eyes, and had a large chain-gun-like machine strapped around one arm. "Who the hell are they"

"They're the intruders I was t-talking about, sir" answered Wedge shakily.

"You guys wanna shut down the Dream Matrix for us, or do we have to force you" asked Arc tiredly, his fist grinding restlessly.

"Bring it on" shouted Biggs.

-

They looked around at the control panels, completely at a loss of what to do.

"You know, if you hadn't knocked them out, we could have asked them" muttered Orchid.

"They were pissing me off" shouted back Arc. He kicked the unconscious form of Biggs in frustration, elliciting a groan from the man.

"Kupo! I think I found it" squeaked Montblanc. The other two waded through the junk that cluttered the room to him, and looked at the set of buttons he had found. The moogle had flipped open a yellow and black striped glass box to reveal a set of four red buttons. "But which one is it"

"Well, this one says 'Lockdown'" helped Orchid, pointing at one.

"And this one says 'Detonate'" stated Arc, his eye twitching slightly. "Let's avoid touching that one."

"But... the other two don't have labels, kupo" exclaimed Montblanc.

"You're right" said Orchid, blinking at the two remaining buttons.

"Hunh. Must've gotten scraped off over time" murmured Arc as he inspected them.

"What do we do" asked the girl hopelessly.

"Well... one of them is probably the off button" reasoned Arc. "And the other can't be that bad, since we've already checked off the self-destruct and the lockdown buttons. So we press both."

"Okay..." agreed Orchid, though not very sure of his plan.

"On three" said Arc.

"One. Two. Kupo"

Montblanc pressed both unmarked red buttons in unison. The whole building shuddered as they felt something come to a grinding halt, and a background humming that they hadn't even noticed before stopped. The eerie silence filled the air.

"Did we do it"

-

The man smiled wickedly in his cell. He ran a gloved hand through his blonde hair as he watched the door to his cell slide open. Swinging his arms sharply, he broke out of the decrepit shackles that had once held him in his unconscious state. He walked over to a corner that had once been out of his reach, and picked up his sword. The fool guards had left it there, figuring he would never even leave the bench he had been chained by. He swung it through the air, grinning at the slicing sounds it made. Soon he would have his revenge.


	27. Revelation of the Light

ARRGHH: F! I screwed up! i was supposed to put deluge and the lightning fragment in last chapter... ah, well. I got them in this one. Anyways, I have lots to talk about. First, I want to reward my reviewers. Nobody got who the second blonde is, but Zanisha and Demon Surfer both got who the first one is. It's everybody's favorite clone. So yay-hands Zanisha and Demon Surfer Montblanc plushies- And, just because you two are my most faithful readers, I'll let Aliasfan and Hislight fight over an Arc plushie. -tosses them a disgruntled looking plushie-

Arc: I don't look like that!

Orchid: You do right now...

Hiroshige: anyways, I'd like to congradulate Demon Surfer for embarassing me by noting 7th Heaven's origins. No, Jing doesn't appear, I just stole the idea and name. 'Cause it's cool. And you'll probably recognize the next world. The only thing's I'll have stolen are the city's name, and the badguy (mr. whitehair), his name, and... um... the theme of the city. But, the cast will be different, and a whole lot of things will be different. But somethings will be somewhat similar.

Lastly: I'd like to tell you all about a wonderful band called Burning Airlines. They're unheard of. If by any rare chance you happen to have their CD, Identikit, you'll highly enjoy seven chapters of my fic. If not, you can email me at if you want the song. This chapter's BGM is "Surgeon's House" by Burning Airlines. Start playing it as soon as you start reading. Final note: I'm going camping. So I might post tomorrow. but, I won't be back 'til Sunday. Anyways, RR everybody!

* * *

-

All across the prison, the only noise was the sound of grating metal as the barred doors slid back, metal bars, rusty with neglect and lack of use. Bleary eyed prisoners blinked in the waves of light and shadow, uncomprehending at their new found consciousness. Only two knew what was happening.

Dim lights flickered fitfully, and toughened boots stepped across the grungy floors. He smiled. Revenge would be so sweet after all these years, like a wine left to age. His blade scraped across the cement, leaving a trail of sparks behind him. He would get out of here. And he would find him.

His smile was like the devil's.

-

_Where did my father find this photograph?_

His blue eyes stared down at the picture. He missed her so much.

_Where is the spite, the narrowed eyes?_

Thoughts of the past brought back thoughts of Him. The cold, green eyes, the silvery hair.

_She was so beautiful in black and white._

His thumb gently caressed her face on scrap of paper he held.

_Anywhere else, would I recognize, this smile?_

She was beautiful. That one smile, captured here forever.

_(is it like mine?)_

He smiled weakly. How he missed her.

_Was this before she died..._

A single, solemn tear hit the paper.

_from making the best of it?_

Shackles broke like glass as he stood up and swung his arms, the picture clutched in his fist. His eyes glowed harshly in the shadows as he strode out, grabbing his enormous blade as he left the cell. It dragged against the ground, setting off a shower of sparks. He swung it across the walls and ceiling as it came to rest on his shoulder, leaving deep gashes through the solid cement. He was getting out of here. And he would find Him.

_Prehistory in tacked-up Polaroid._

They had crashed here, the two of them.

_Some proof of a life nothing survived._

The guards had attacked. He had been overwhelmed.

_Anger like amber, where they're fossilized._

He had shouted for her to run. She wouldn't leave him.

_Maybe I like the way it dulls the light._

His fist clenched as he remembered what happened next.

_Anaesthetized._

_He _had taken her.

_Were we ever alive?_

She had screamed his name.

_Drawn of lines._

And he could do nothing more than shout hers.

_So cold...  
_

"Aerith"

-

"Who are you" demanded Orchid.

"Where's Leonhart" the man screamed at them, gray trenchcoat flapping.

"What do you want with Squall" growled out Arc.

"I'm gonna kill him" yelled the man, waving his wickedly sharp gunblade at them.

"Why" shouted back Arc.

"He gave me this scar" responded the man, pointing at the cut across his face.

"And you gave him his" growled Arc, as the man lunged at them.

"Seifer" There was a clang of clashing blades, and when Orchid opened her eyes, there was a man standing in front of her, locking blades with Seifer.

"Strife..." growled Seifer.

"Leave them out of this" roared Cloud, swinging his buster sword, knocking the other blonde away from him.

"I wanted to kill Leonhart, but since I can't, you're the next best thing" yelled Seifer as lunged forwards again.

"So be it" cried the spiky haired blonde.

Their swords clashed again and again as they fought, slashing at eachother, each looking for an opening in the other's defense. Sweat poured down their bodies as they fought at a level that Orchid and Arc could only dream of acheiving.

"Demonslash" cried out Seifer as he began to whirlwind, his gunblade threatening to cut anything that came close.

"Omnislash" responded Cloud, bursting into a blur of motion with his enourmous buster sword.

Blood sprayed through the air.

Seifer fell, his back slamming against the cement wall. He moved to get up, then froze as Cloud's blade came slicing down into the cement, mere inches from his head.

"You've lost, Almasy" said Cloud in a low growl. "And you're going to stay here."

_So cold inside._

"No..." whispered Seifer, eyes wide with fear.

_Were we ever alive?_

"Yes."

_So cold inside..._

"You-you can't"

"Watch me."

_the surgeon's house tonight._

-

"Why was he so afraid" asked Orchid as they walked down the halls with Cloud.

"Because" started the blonde haired warrior"he know's _they're_ coming."

"Who" asked Arc suspiciously.

"The beings of light" Cloud responded shortly.

"What" asked the trio in confusion.

"You've only seen darkness taking worlds" continued Cloud. "But the light's taking worlds. Darkness devouring light-hearted worlds, and light engulfing dark-hearted worlds. Like this one. This world reeked of darkness and shadows. Demons patrolled the hallways; Wedge and Biggs were two of only a few free humans in 7th Heaven. But now, as you can see, it's empty; the demons have dissappeared. The light's been cleansing it."

"So, if the light is taking over worlds too, why haven't we seen the opposite of the Heartless yet" asked Orchid

"Because... it's so easy for someone to lose their heart..." answered Cloud, halting in his walk. "To let their light become extinguished in total darkness. To become a Heartless. But very few are taken by the light, to have all darkness removed from them."

"But isn't that a good thing?" she asked as the trio stopped behind him.

"No. Humans are both light and dark. That's what makes them human. It's easy to lose your light in the darkness…but only very few can reach that pure form, to have all shadow purged from them, to achieve that horrible, perfect state, devoid of humanity. They… are the Shadowless."

Silence rang out at the name of the terrible beings.

"They are the burning beings of light" continued Cloud, starting to walk again. "They burn away all impurities. Love. Hate. Happiness. Sorrow. Glory. Regret. Everything human. They are powerful beyond reason. And they are coming."

Almost unconsciously, the trio's pace quickened. If they were enough to make a ruthless fighter like Seifer curl up like a child in the throes of a nightmare, then these Shadowless were certainly something to fear.

"What do they look like, kupo" asked Montblanc.

"You'll know them when you see them" responded Cloud grimly. Then he paused. "Or maybe not."

He turned around suddenly to face them, his face a mask of cold seriousness as his blue eyes pierced the gloom to stare at them.

"Most of them, ones that have been totally been possessed by the light, look like burning white specters, beings of holy flame, insubstantial but no less dangerous" explained Cloud. He turned and continued talking as they walked down the hall. "But there are a few that have retained concsious thought, instead of becoming mindless vortexes of light. They are the elite, and are extremely powerful and deadly. While they have powers that make armies of Heartless tremble in fear, they still retain human form and intelligence. They may look human, but don't expect to be able to reason with them."

"We'll keep that in mind" said Arc solemnly as they reached the hangar that they had left their gummi ship in.

"What was Seifer imprisoned for" asked Orchid.

"He attacked Squall and Rinoa in Hollow Bastion, five years ago" answered Arc. "He was protecting the Sorceress, a lady who was trying to overthrow Ansem's rule. He and Squall scarred each other, and Seifer nearly killed Rinoa."

"Oh..." said Orchid. It was strange to hear about people she had only heard of in other's stories.

"Here, take these" said Cloud as they turned to go to their ship. When Orchid turned back, he saw him holding a sphere of magic and a glowing shard. The orb was a deep blue color, and the fragment was an electric yellow.

"What are they" asked Orchid as she took them.

"The magic is Deluge" responded Cloud. "It's a stronger version of the Water spell. I don't know what the fragment is, though it strongly radiates an aura of lightning."

Orchid took in the magic and felt a rushing sensation through her body, and momentarily felt as if she was drowning. When it was gone, she turned and tossed the shard to Montblanc. "You can have it. I don't think I need something to boost my lightning magic."

"Kupo" murmured Montblanc as he caught the yellow sliver. It pulsed faintly in his paws.

"ReLeAsE mE."

Montblanc looked around, but no one else had heard the voice. Shrugging, he put the crystalline shard in a pocket and followed after Arc and Orchid.

"Hey, Cloud" asked Orchid as they got into their gummi ship and Cloud walked over to another that was docked there. "Can't I lock this world, and keep the Shadowless from coming"

"No" answered Cloud and Arc in unison. Cloud explained"7th Heaven is only made of a fragment of a world. Even if you did find a keyhole, it wouldn't matter, since the world's heart is fully exposed. Within the month, I expect 7th Heaven will be gone."

"Then where are you going to go" asked Orchid as he climbed into the gummi ship he chose to pilot.

"I..." he paused, eyes averted. "I'm going to find her."

The door closed, and moments later, the ship took off as Arc readied their ship for departure.

"Who do you think he was talking about" asked Orchid as they took off.

"I think I might know..." murmured Arc under his breath as Montblanc shrugged.

Meanwhile, Cloud was murmuring some words of his own.

"I don't know what you did, Sephiroth, but I will find her."


	28. Preperations

Droolie: Yeah, last update for the week. And try not to get TOO much drool on the plushy. I'm sure Montblanc would appreciate that. Anyways, this chapter's kind of short, and is basically a filler chapter. We get to watch Eriks walk around Hollow Bastion. And do... stuff. Well, next chapter is start of Arc's sidestory! Yeah! This is gonna be cool! Back to five chapters a world and whatnot! Anyways, RR! hmm... where to work in Falling Star...

* * *

-

It was raining. He looked to the sky as rain slid down his leather jacket, droplets splashing on his face. It didn't used to rain when he first arrived. Now it rained almost constantly. It was like the sky was in mourning.

As depressing and emotional as it was, it didn't change the fact he was bored. He had long since explored every nook and cranny of the castle, with the exception of the Great Hall. He wasn't allowed in there. So now, Eriks patrolled the battlements and walkways of Hollow Bastion, waiting for something to happen.

"There we are" he said to himself as he spotted figures in the gloom. He quickly ducked to the side and behind a pillar as a group of Heartless soldiers, some walking, some flying on mechanical wings, along with a lumbering, armored Heartless carrying a dog faced shield that occasionally snapped at any soldier that strayed too close, walked towards where he was. "Only one defender... oh, well."

He walked back out into the middle of the walkway as the Heartless came near, _Excalibur_ held at an angle towards the ground in one hand.The Heartless stared at him, then spread out into fighting positions as they recognized the challange.

"Ready when you are" said Eriks, rain pouring through his spiky black hair and down his face.

One of the five ground soldiers made the first move. It leaped at him, claws outstretched. With a flick of his sword, the Heartless was sent flying against the wall, where it crumpled and jerked erratically. It wouldn't be fighting anymore.

"Can't you do better" asked the boy. With that, the other Heartless lunged at him. One slice removed two of the soldiers and an air soldier. A second brought down the remaining air soldiers as they futiley tried to dive bomb on him. It wasn't long before he had cut his way over to the defender. It raised its shield up, the eyes of the dog face on it glowing red as it charged for a fireball. Eriks dodged to the side, but the defender swung around its sheild, and the spell caught him full force in the stomach, sending him flying into the railing. He got up quickly to face the Heartless again.

The defender swung its shield at him, and he parried with his sword, then counterattacked. His blade struck lightly into the defender's chest, but the Heartless shuffled backwards before he could do any further damage.

"Light Ray" commanded Eriks, pointing _Excalibur_ at the defender. The Heartless quickly moved to one side, out of the way of the beam of white magic that shot from the end of the blade, but growled as the light cut through its shield arm, severing it. The beam of energy faded, and Eriks surveyed the battle. All of the Heartless were injured to a point where fighting him would be pure folly. He turned and walked away, knowing they would eventually lurk back into the shadows to lick their wounds.

Then he worked on shaking the water out of his jacket and his hair as he rode the lifts back up to the main section of the castle. When he got off and walked in, Elias was waiting for him.

"Getting bored" asked the thin man. The boy nodded. "Well, then I think I have a mission for you."

"What" asked Eriks.

"We've located another of the Princesses of Heart. I think I'll let you get this one."

"Why do we need these girls anyways"

"Because, they are the key to our Master's plan."

"And when he succeeds, he'll be able to bring back Arcadia, right"

"Of course."

"... what do I need to do"

-

"How goes it" asked Elias.

"Their hearts are strong, master" replied the man, his long white hair swishing gracefully as he turned to face him.

"That's why we chose them" said Elias, his face emotionless beside the half mask. "I've come to tell you that you'll soon need to be returning to your world, gear master."

"Really" asked the man as he turned back to monitering the limp forms of Leon and Riku, hanging from thier chains. "Am I needed? I thought my clockworks were taking care of it."

"The key bearer is heading there now."

The man paused at this. Then he turned to face Elias again. "And he'll be coming back too"

"Yes. No matter how he feels, he won't abandon the girl."

"Well, then. I'll have to plan something truly special. It's not often that I get to see old friends."

"Good. You'd best be leaving soon."

The man made to leave, then suddenly turned back.

"These two are self sufficient, and only require periodic monitering" he said, gesturing to the unconscious Riku and Leon. "But who will continue the work on the Grey One"

"I shall see to it personally" replied Elias. "I don't trust Stromwind to deal with work of such a delicate nature."

"Well, then, I shall be off." And the man left, with a slight sound of gears breaking the silence.

-

Orchid was smiling from ear to ear. This mood was caused entirely because Arc had finally relented and let her pilot the gummi ship for once. This had resulted in Arc and Montblanc developing a sense of motion sickness.

"Woohoo! This is great" squealed Orchid as she took the ship into another barrel roll.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." muttered Arc as the ship righted itself.

"Kupopopo... me too..." agreed Montblanc, his antenna drooping in a sickly manner.

"So, what's the next world anyways" asked Orchid, letting the ship cruise flatly.

"Dunno, lemme check" said Arc as he began pressing various buttons next to a screen on the control panel. He finally got the map to come up.

"So...six is... this one" said Orchid, pointing at a world that looked like a clock.

They glanced at Arc as the man sat there, staring at the display.

"What's wrong, kupo" asked Montblanc. Arc blinked, as if suddenly remembering where he was.

"Nothing" he lied. And he thought to himself, 'So. I'm finally going home.'


	29. In the City of Time

Addiction: Yeah, I haven't written lately because of summer school and Gaia Online. Very addicting. I worked forever to get the sports vest and the goth pants. Now my avatar looks cool! Anyways, if you like anime and video games and that sort of junk, go to ; it's very cool, even if it IS still in alpha testing. Anyways, we're finally here. Read and review, people, we're getting closer to Arc's past.  
-

-

_tick_

The Clockwork City, Adonis. The City of Time gleamed in the morning light. Sharp, pristine, and above all, orderly. Vins valued order greatly. Order was the path to perfection, the path he had chosen.

People hurried about like ants, ordered and efficient, each knowing exactly what to do. And if they didn't...

His gaze flickered to one of the town squares, resting on the bladed machine that rested there.

Well, not many people broke the law twice.

He turned and walked back in from his balcony, the small clicking sound of gears this created lost in the greater noise of millions of cogs crunching together, chains rattling along, wheels slowly spinning. It was the sound of order. The sound of logic. His city was even more perfect than he was. It was the embodiement of order.

And it had no clue of the chaos that would soon be visited on it.

_tick_

"Arc"

"Hmm"

"You've been acting strange ever since we got here" said Orchid as they walked down the stone work paved streets. The buildings here were impressive, all of them tall and highly decorated, with a certain industrial machine feel to them. Most noticable of all was the fact that, no matter where you were, you only had to turn a little and you could find a clock. They were everywhere, and people seemed to live by them. All around the trio, people busily scurried about, too rushed to notice the newcomers. "Is something wrong"

"No" said Arc quickly. He upped his pace a little to walk in front of the other two, lost in thought. He could feel it. Pumping through his body, like blood. He thought it had left him. He had merely left it, and now that he was back, it was part of him once more. As it always had been. Time.

"Are those Heartless, kupo" asked Montblanc, interrupting Arc's thoughts. When he looked, several figures were moving towards them, and all the citizens scurried out of their way.

"Yes" said Orchid, as Nearbloom materialized in her hand. The figures were definately Heartless, easily recognized by their black bodies and yellow eyes. Their build was similar to that of a soldier, but their livery was completely different. They had four thin, wide gears covering the upper part of each arm, two on each arm. They also had smaller gears on their hands covering the backs, along with metallic claws. Their chests were covered with metal armor, marked with the Heartless crest, with gears and chains sticking out in odd places. Green, pointy caps rested on their heads, the kind that would be jolly had they not been on the Heartless.

"So, they're even here..." muttered Arc under his breath. He readied his fist, then launched himself at the Heartless.

"Deluge" shouted Montblanc, who had mastered the spell soon after Orchid had. A jet of water shot out of the end of his rod, slamming into some of the Heartless that had dodged Arc and where heading for them. They were knocked flat by the constant stream of water, and were sent sliding across the stony pavement and into a wall.

"Take this" yelled Orchid as Nearbloom struck into the face of one of the gearfreaks. It instantly exploded into dark particles, then was sucked into the keyblade. As she looked around, she could see more of the geared up Heartless coming towards them, coming out of alleyways. "Aw, man..."

Soon, they were upon them. Montblanc was unleashing a barrage of magic upon them, while Orchid and Arc rained terror upon them with keyblade and fist.

"Outta my way, you little" Arc started. He stopped as he fell, attacked from behind at the knees. He managed to swing his fist under him momentarily to kill the Heartless that had done it, but he couldn't keep from falling to the ground. "Oww..."

"Arc" shouted Orchid. When Arc looked up, there was a gearfreak leaping right for him.

"Oh, shi"

He never finished his curse, because just then, a blast of power, only visible by the way it disturbed the air and the images of anything behind it, struck the Heartless. The trio watched as the Heartless, trapped within the blast, grew larger. Then the gears on it began to decay, crumbling to nothing, until it was nothing but a large shadow. Seconds later, it was a blob of black, and then it was gone as the blast ended.

"What was that" exclaimed Orchid.

"I told them not to touch you. But as soon as they sense a heart, they just forget their orders. Like little sacks of greed."

The voice, so cold and perfect, chilled the very bones of the girl and the moogle. But it truly scared Arc. It had been two years since he had heard that voice. And he knew whose it was.

"Vins..." he whispered as he got up. He stared at the man before him. He was slender, and stood tall. His long, white hair drifted gracefully behind him with every step, and a faint clinking of gears followed him as he strode confidently forwards. His pale, perfect face stared at Arc with frigid, ice blue eyes. He wore an open rich, blue coat with broad shoulders and short sleeves, lined with golden cloth at the edges. His shirt was a fine white silk, and his legs were wrapped in tight pants that were of a slightly darker hue than his coat. Shining metal greaves, wrought with all sorts of latches and mechanisms, encased his feet and lower legs, and a similar gauntlet covered his left forearm. His right forearm was deeply imbedded within the mechanical cannon that had destroyed the Heartless. Roughly four feet in length with a wide opening, it looked very dangerous, especially after they saw it in action.

"I'm glad you remember me, Arcanis" responded the man calmly.

"Who is he? And what did he do with that gun" asked Orchid, unnerved by the cold grace of the white haired man.

"My name is Vins Mousseux" answered the man. "I am the ruler of this city, my perfect Adonis."

"And that thing" added Arc, pointing with his left at the gun"is one of his projects, that I guess he finished while I was gone."

"Ah, so you remember this" said Vins with some amusement, patting the huge weapon on his right arm. "My project to use time as a weapon. That fool Heartless just experienced several hundred years in several seconds."

"What do you want with us, Vins? Why did you save me" asked Arc suspiciously.

"I simply saved you from that gearfreak because I wanted to deal with you personally" explained Vins, no hint of emotion in his voice. "It's been so long since I've seen you, after all."

"How do you know Arc, kupo" asked Montblanc.

"He used to live here, until I banished him four years ago" stated Mousseux.

"Four years ago? That's a little before when you said you moved to Hollow Bastion" Orchid said to Arc.

"So that's where you went" murmured Vins. "A very nice place indeed. And now Dar'ck stays there."

"What have you done with him" demanded Arc.

"He's being taken care of" he responded. "Master Elias is seeing to him now."

"I swear, if you've hurt him in any way..." threatened Arc.

"Hmph. You're still as tiresome as ever. Making threats and vows that you can't keep, Arcanis."

"I'll kill you now" yelled Arc, charging at the man.

"How very annoying" said Vins calmly, leveling his cannon with Arc.

"Arc" screamed Orchid. But there was nothing she could do. Vins had already unleashed the power of time on Arc, straight at him.

"Now die."

There was a blur, and Arc's figure became indistinct and took on a blueish hue, then dissappeared. Then he blurred back into focus again, but about a foot to the left. Most of him had moved out of the way, but as the stream of time exploded outwards, it still caught his stony gauntlet that covered his right arm.

"You've grown rusty, Arcanis" stated Vins simply as the he cried in pain. Before their eyes, Orchid and Montblanc watched as Arc's enormous fist, his weapon, crumbled to dust in the blast of time. "You can barely even slice the seconds in half."

Arc fell to the ground, clutching his right arm. But there wasn't an arm there to clutch. Inside of his gauntlet had been nothing. His arm just ended halfway down his upper arm, some loose wires sticking out from his now shredded sleeve.

"Now that we're rid of that toy" started Vins, lowering his cannon to Arc's face as he walked up"I'll kill the rest of you too."

"Leave him alone, Vins" shouted a voice. Several long knives came flying through the air to imbed themselves in Vins's weapon. Sparks sprayed out of where they struck, and Vins hastily backed away from Arc while disengaging the cannon from his arm. Once it was off, he threw it away, mere moments before it exploded in a spray of shrapnel.

"Jenine" asked Arc, looking up. A figure jumped down from a nearby roof to land on the stones between Arc and Vins. She had long, blonde hair, tied up in a pony tail, and blue green eyes. She looked to be in her late teens, but her slight build left her looking much smaller than Arc, despite only being a little shorter once he was standing again. She wore tan baggy pants, like what a mechanic would wear, along with what seemed to be the bottom half of a leather trench coat strapped to her at the waist. Inside of it, they could see row upon row of knives hanging from it, each one identical to the ones that had destroyed Vins's time cannon. Her top was only covered by a small, plain black tube top, which left much of her light, cream colored skin exposed. Other than that, she only wore a pair of well worn gloves and a pair of similarly battered goggles on her forehead.

"It's definately me, Arcanis" she said, pulling out two more knives, one in each hand.

"Have you come to defend this criminal" asked Vins coldly, shaking out his right arm, which had a gauntlet identical to the one on his left.

"You're the one who's a criminal, just attacking him for no reason" yelled Orchid, jumping and preparing to smash the keyblade into Vins. The man looked at her with only slight interest. And then he was gone. Orchid swung, then landed hard on her feet, completely baffled by her target's disappearence.

"Nice try, but you'll have to be much faster" said Vins. He was standing a ways off. "You're lucky I don't have my Kikuichimonji with me. Well, no matter. You'll be seeing me later. Spend your time wisely."

As soon as he finished, he disappeared, leaving only a faint blue after image for a moment.

"He'll probably send some of his clockworks here soon, Arcanis" said the new girl, apparently named Jenine. "Let's get you and your friends to the base now, and talk later."

"Fine" agreed Arc, still clutching what was left of his right arm. "Let's go."

Jenine smiled. "Welcome home, Arcanis."


	30. Meet the Fugitives

Ah, A/N: Ah, I journeyed to the cabin, and lo! I came back with many a chapter. Okay, so more like two. But it's a start! Anyways, Time to introduce the Adonis Crew. I've decided Jenine is now one of my favorite OCs. And I've been thinking about what to do with Outcasts of Arcadia. But I have to finish this and Arc's Revolver before I even get to that, but it's so cool. Ah, well. Anyways, RR.

Today's favourite quote:

"Whitey-locks"

"Go play on a mine"  
-

_tick_

"Welcome back, Arcanis" called out a gruff voice. It belonged to a large, strong looking man, who came up to the four of them and started roughly patting Arc on the back, smiling broadly. He was taller than Arc, and practically towered over Orchid. He wore a simple, but tough looking pair of pants, a plain white shirt stretched tighly over his muscles, and a worn out looking red vest. His features were blocky, the sort to be expected of a tough guy, and he had a neatly trimmed black beard and short, spiky hair of the same color.

"Hey, Ricksen" said Arc, grinning at the large man. "How have things been"

"Same old, same old" responded the large man with a shrug. "Vins strictly enforces the laws, and every now and then, someone ends up here after fleeing from them. Usually the tardiness clause."

From the messy arrangment of broken down furniture in the rooms, to the rather ragtag look of the people in them, it was easy for Orchid to see these were all outcasts of some sort or another. From what Jenine had told her and Montblanc, it was an underground community for the fugitives hiding from Vins's harsh laws that he had to keep his city perfect.

"What's with the wires, Arcanis" asked Ricksen, pointing to what was left of Arc's right arm.

"Oh, he had some weird stone hand thing, but then Vins blew it off" explained Jenine.

"I got it after I left" said Arc.

"Hey, Arc" called Orchid"why's everyone calling you Arcanis"

"Because that's his name" said Jenine simply, patting Arc on the shoulder.

"No, it's not" he said, roughly brushing her hand off and walking away. "Arcanis died long ago."

"What's with him" asked Orchid.

"He's probably still hitting himself over the head for what happened" muttered Jenine sourly.

"What do you mean, kupo" asked Montblanc, his antenna pompom bouncing with curiousity.

Jenine sighed. "Two years ago, he led a bunch of others from our fugitive band to invade Vins's palace. They wanted to free us from his harsh reign." She looked away. "They failed. Vins Mousseux and his clockworks were too much for them, and killed almost all of them. A few of the injured came back, Arc and Dar'ck among them. That was how Arcanis lost his arm, and Dar'ck lost his right eye. Arcanis blamed himself for all of it, and he apparently still does."

"Who's Dar'ck" asked Orchid. "We heard Vins mention that name too."

"Dar'ck was Arcanis's brother, or half brother at least" answered Ricksen, walking over to them. "We found both of them living on the streets when they were about ten or so."

"They were very close" added Jenine. "They both left after their failed assault on Vins's palace, and we never knew where they went." She sighed again. "When I saw Arcanis had come home, I was hoping Dar'ck had too. The three of us had been unseperable before they left."

"Yeah, with the crazy strict rules and the Heartless here too, you could use all the help, huh" said Orchid. "I hope we can find the keyhole and seal it. Then we can get rid of all the Heartless here, and that would help."

"Yeah, those things freak me out" agreed Jenine.

"Kupopo... but what about the Shadowless" asked Montblanc.

"Would those be here too" asked Orchid. "I mean, there are already Heartless, so..."

"I know that Heartless attack light worlds, and Shadowless attack dark worlds, kupo, but what about worlds that are both light and dark" speculated Montblanc. "This world is kind of dark and mechanical, but it seems to have a lot of light things too, kupo."

"I guess..." said Orchid.

"What are you two talking about" asked Jenine, but before they could tell her, they were interrupted by a happy squeal.

"Ni-kun"

A young girl, looking to be somewhere between Orchid and Jenine's ages, launched herself across the room to latch onto Arc, hugging him with all her might.

"Ack, Melina" exclaimed Arc, stumbling back a bit.

"Where have you been, Ni-kun" asked the girl. She wore an oversized jacket, a pair of small, somewhat loose shorts, a short white shirt, and a pair of shoes that looked a size too big.

"Get off and I'll tell you, fuzz-brain" smiled Arc, mussing up the girl's long red hair with his hand.

Finally having had her fill of hugging, the girl let go. "So where's Dar'ck-sempai"

Arc became silent.

"What's with the names" asked Orchid to Jenine.

"Dar'ck-sempai is Melina's nickname for Dar'ck, and Ni-kun is her nickname for Arca_ni_s" she explained. "She was always close to them. She thought of Arc as her friend, and Dar'ck as her big brother, maybe more."

"I see" said Orchid quietly. She watched as Melina bounced excitedly around Arc, asking him questions. He would answer most of them, but she noticed that he grew quiet whenever she asked about Dar'ck.

"Well, come on, Arcanis, I bet you got some real good stories for us, eh" said Ricksen jovially, giving Arc a friendly smack in the arm. "You'll have to tell us all about it over dinner."

"Yeah. Sure" said Arc. He smiled with his mouth, but his eyes were empty.

_tick_

"So, the vagrant's finally home" mused Vins as he stood at his balcony, watching his perfect city. His hair blew like fine silk in the cool evening breeze. "And he's fled to that rat's nest."

"Why do you worry" asked twin voices.

"I don't. I was merely pondering" replied Vins, not turning to face them.

"Aw, was Mousseux getting nostalgic" teased one.

"I thought the Shadowless were beyond that, ne" said the other playfully.

"Then why are you two so tiresome? Oh, wait, you aren't perfect." The two stopped. Vins smiled. It was one of the ways he kept his control over them. He was perfect. They were not.

"I hate it when he gets all smug like that" whispered one to the other.

"Whitey-locks"

"Go play on a mine"

Vins turned to face them, tired of their chatter. He had called them for a reason, and he was going to tell them, whether or not they wanted to hear. He walked slowly towards the two girls, assessing them, looking them over. They had straight black hair, cut evenly to fall just short of thier shoulders. They were smiling cheerfully, their somewhat round faces unbearably cute as they acted ditzy. It was a facade of course, but it didn't bother Vins much and it seemed to amuse them, so he never got rid of that trait. They wore sleeveless black smooth leather trenchcoats that ended just below their knees. Sleeves and platform boots made with the same glossy black material covered from below their shoulders to their wrists and from halfway up their thighs and down. Other than that were just their skin tight, open bellied body suits, also shiny black, and leaving much of their pale white skin exposed. It didn't effect Vins, but it seemed to have all sorts of interesting effects on many of the people in the city. A mixed sense of fear and lust or envy does strange things to people.

"Elf, Zwolf" Vins addressed them. They both looked up at him from their whispering in unison; they were exactly alike with the only exception being the numbers imprinted in silver on their foreheads, eleven and twelve.

"Yes" asked the one marked eleven brightly, .

"I have a task I need completed, Elf" replied Vins simply, walking over to them. He trailed a faint sound of gears.

"What do you want us to do" asked the other girl with a coy smile.

"I would have you two do nothing. This is not a task that deserves your attention, Zwolf" he answered. "I think I'll send Monoa and Duo. And Tresian to keep an eye on them too."

"We'll tell them" chimed the two girls.

"I thought you might say that. Now here's what I need them to do..." started Vins. He drew them in closer and told them of his plan in detail.

_tick_

It was midnight in Adonis, and all was quiet in the hideout.

Orchid slept soundly in the bed that had been provided and dreamt of what wonders she would see tomorrow. Montblanc slept in a pile of blankets outside her door, occasionally stirring, his antenna ball and ears flicking periodically at nothing in particular. Ricksen lightly slept sitting in his chair by the entrance to the fugitives' base, and Jenine had once more managed to fall asleep at her work desk in her room, having stayed up late to work on something. Arc slept only fitfully, stirring uncomfortably and sometimes even waking when he expected to roll onto his right arm but didn't. And at the end of the hall, in her room filled with various toys and cushions she had collected, Melina slept like a baby.

Her eyelids fluttered breifly at a noise. It sounded like a steady pounding. She opened her eyes and looked to the wall next to her bed. It shook with each resounding blow. Her eyes widened as a crack appeared in the wall, widening steadily as the pounding continued. She sat up and backed away to the head of her bed, clutching her pillow to her breast like a scared child. The pounding grew louder, and she buried her face into the pillow, her red hair falling around her messily as she tried to hide. She let out a squeal of terror as the wall finally gave way, opening into a large hole. The dust cleared and she could see what had broken the wall. It was the end of a staff, with a large, spherical green crystal on the end.

"Hello there" a manically cheerful voice greeted Melina. A young man's face popped in. He had light colored skin, and his eyes and mouth smiled just a bit too wildly. His light brown hair, parted down the center and spiking out to either side added to the crazed look. Melina shied away even more, but not because of his face. He was leaning his arms on the edge of the ragged hole, only they weren't arms. Just below the elbows, his arms had been replaced with long, sharp sword blades, one for each arm.

"Get out of the way and grab her already" said an impatient voice, this one feminine. The staff roughly shoved the young man to one side and hit against the wall some more, widening the hole. Another face came through presently and looked at the terrified Melina. She had dark skin, which greatly contrasted her short blonde hair. "You're coming with us, girl."

A cold, mechanical hand reached for Melina, and she did the only thing she could think of. She screamed.


	31. Kidnaps and Escapes

Seduction: Yeah, Katie (aka Nekodoshi) seduced the Ansem plushie that Demon Surfer gave me from me. And much sex ensued. Just kidding. Anyways, I can't wave the plushy around anymore 'cause Katie has it, and if she actually updates, you might see it in her author's notes. Maybe. Anyways, I don't have any reasons to hand out Plushies... oh wait, yeah I do! Over the Adonis chapters, there'll be Vins's special clockworks, all 12 of them. Guess the significance of their names! Just to make it easier, I'll tell you that they all show up in order except for Elf and Zwolf. Hmm... if you go by Orchid's perspective, ALL of them show up in order. Ah, well. Let the reading, reviewing, and guessing begin! Winner gets a... hmm... a little tortured Riku plushie!

Riku: You can't do that!

Hiro: You're right. They get... a little tortured Riku plushie with cross, chains, and special lighting effects!

Riku: That's no better!

Hiro: hahaha... so fun to mess with. In reality, winner gets... a Jenine plushy! My favorite mechanic, heheh. Goes well with the Arc plushy. Time to drive Arcy mad... or I could hand out a Rikku plushy to do that... hmmm... Winner gets a choice of Rikku or Jenine plushy! This contest ends when we leave Adonis! You must connect the names and give reasons! Multiple languages will be needed to do this! Muhahaha!

* * *

_tick_

Everybody stood around, staring into the darkness beyond the gaping hole in the wall of Melina's bedroom. None of them had seen her taken, and had only arrived to see that she was gone. People shuffled around in their nightclothes discussing the incident among each other.

"That red haired girl was taken" Orchid asked Jenine, shifting around her shorts, which she had hastily put on with her white tank top.

"Yeah, this was Melina's room" answered Jenine, who was fully dressed, having fallen asleep at her desk.

Several of the other residents were discussing with Ricksen what to do when Arc came in.

"I'm going after her" he declared simply, brushing past everybody in just his pants, shirt and trench coat forgotten in his room.

"No way, Arcanis" said Ricksen, grabbing Arc by the left shoulder. "It's too dangerous. Those were some of Vins's personal clockworks."

"Let go of me" shouted Arc, turning to punch at Ricksen with his right. But he merely stared wide eyed as his fist didn't connect, and he remembered that he didn't have an arm anymore. All that was there was some metal interfacing and some wires.

"See? You can't possibly fight them like this" reasoned Ricksen, taking his hand off Arc and trying to calm him. "Even I can hardly stand against them, and I'm in good shape compared to you."

"Shut up, old man" rage Arc. "I'm gonna save her, and you're not gonna stop me"

With that, he turned and jumped over the bed and ran off into the gloom of the hole that had been made.

"Aw, man..." sighed Jenine. "He's such a hot head. Hope he doesn't get killed."

"Don't worry" comforted Orchid. "I'll make sure he doesn't."

"Don't forget about me, kupo" squeaked Montblanc, running up, rod in hand. Orchid nodded to the moogle and they both climbed over the bed and followed Arc into the darkness.

Jenine sighed again, then gave a half hearted smile. "You got good friends, Arcanis. I just hope they're good enough."

_tick_

"Let me go" yelled Melina, struggling to escape the woman's grip.

"Sorry, little girl. Master's orders" chuckled the young man.

"Just be quiet and stop fighting" snarled the woman, her light hair swishing about her face as she moved her face away to avoid a head butt.

"Let her go"

The two turned, pulling the girl with them. Arc stood there, his eyes narrow. It was his eyes that gleamed, not the glasses, which he had also left in his room. And they gleamed with rage.

"Aw, look, it's the little prince come to save his street rat princess, how sweet" teased the male.

"What are you going to do, one arm" asked the female dangerously.

"Hand her over" said Arc, walking closer.

"Walk no further" threatened the woman, the claws of her mechanical left hand digging into Melina's arm.

"Ni-kun" cried Melina, wincing at the pain.

"Let her go" shouted Arc.

"Fine."

The woman threw her roughly to one side, and she hit the wall and slid down to the dank and dirty floor to lie still. Then she stepped forwards with her companion, and they reveled themselves to Arc in a patch of light filtering down through a grate from the streets above.

The woman had smooth dark skin and blonde hair that fell evenly, framing her face. Her dark eyes were near black, and completely devoid of emotion other than anger. She wore green robes that were highly decorated with golden lining and carried a long wood staff that held a green crystal orb on the top. The most noticable thing was that her left leg, which was bare, was entirely mechanical, made of complex clockwork. Her left arm was the same, and so was much of the left side of her neck.When she stirred, gears clicked in the silence of the night.

The young man had a slender body and a sort of shifty look about him. His light brown hair stuck out to either side of his face, and he grinned widely, his hazel eyes darting this way and that. He wore an off white sleeveless shirt, also emroidered golden on the edges, and loose baggy pants of a slightly darker color. From his bare arms, Arc could see various mechanisms sticking out in places, and the joints were completely mechanical. His forearms, however, had been replace not with machinery, but with dangerously sharp sword blades.

"I am Monoa" said the woman indifferently.

"And I am Duo" sneered the young man, dancing forwards slightly, then back again.

"Are you... Shadowless" asked Arc.

Duo laughed. "And where did you get that conclusion from"

Arc merely pointed at their feet. Sure enough, although they stood in the light, they cast no shadows. At least, they did not cast their normal shadows. Arc could see there on the ground the silhoutte of all the machinery in Monoa's left side, and all of the work that went into Duo's arms. They might not cast shadow's but their clockwork did.

"Very observent" murmured Monoa. "We are only partially shadowless. Not nearly perfect enough, but brought as close as we can be with Vins's help. His masterful work is displayed by what shadows we have."

"I see. So this is his fault" responded Arc.

"It is. And how shall you fight us, Arcanis" asked Monoa.

Arc merely grunted at them, then walked over to the wall of the tunnel. He bent down and picked up a heavy metal pipe, hefting it in his hand to get a feel feel for it. He swung it through the air a couple times much like he would a sword, then walked back to the center of the tunnel, apparently satisfied. "This'll do."

"Have it your way" laughed Duo, before lunging forwards. He swung one arm, and Arc blocked with his pipe. He turned and swung the other arm, and Arc ducked, then blocked the next blow. Soon, the rapid succesion of blows form the sword arms became faster and faster, but Arc easily kept up with his metal pipe, deftly blocking and parrying with it. "You're fun"

"Enough of this" growled Monoa, stepping forwards. She walked forwards and swung her staff at Arc, only to have it be knocked away by one of Duo's blades, which had been parried by Arc. She snarled in frustration and struck again, only to have it blocked and thrown back by Arc. The two clockwork Shadowless began raining blows in succesion on him, but much to their frustration, he seemed more than capable to ward off each blow at an impossibly fast rate.

"Look" exclaimed Duo, staring at Arc's arm. A faint outline of blue could be seen behind his arm as it swung about.

"Damn" cursed Monoa. "He's slicing time"

With that, they two of them began swinging faster and faster, their arms becoming a blur. Arc was tiring fast, and it wasn't long before they landed a blow to his side and went skidding across the ground to hit the tunnel wall, trying his fastest to get up again. When he looked up though, Duo was already lunging for the kill.

"Look out" shouted Orchid.

"Thundara" cried Montblanc, waving his rod as they ran up.

Duo cried out in pain as bolts of lighting rained down and struck him, stopping his charge and giving Arc time to get up again. He swung the metal pipe, and it connected with the Shadowless's head with a sickening crunch. The young man fell to the floor, bouncing up slightly, then falling down to lay still. Suddenly, his body faded in an upstream up white light, until it was gone. Nothing was left except for two sword blades hooked up to complex bits of machinery.

"And you" yelled Orchid. She brought Nearbloom crashing down on Monoa, but the Shadowless managed to block in time with her staff. She managed to ward off the keyblade, but she soon took a fireball to the stomach from Montblanc and went flying back to hit the opposite wall. She started to get up, but it was too late. Orchid plunged the keyblade square into the middle of her chest. She looked stunned, then faded up in streaming particles of white light, only to be drawn back down again and into the keyblade, which pulsed vibrantly.

"Thanks for the rescue" grinned Arc, tossing aside the pipe.

"That's what we're here for" smiled Orchid as she walked over.

"Kupo... where's Melina" asked Montblanc.

Arc looked quickly to the spot where the girl had fallen. She was gone. He turned his head quickly when he heard a muffled cry and clicking of gears. A figure stepped into the light.

"Hello, Arcanis. My master sends you his regards" he said smoothly. He had long, messy black hair and deep black eyes. His skin was pale, even on his chest, which was exposed as he only wore a loose vest on top and some slightly decorated pants. He held Melina close, one hand over the girl's mouth. "My name is Tresian."

"Another Shadowless" asked Arc, seething with rage.

"That's a Shadowless" asked Orchid.

"Kupopo... he doesn't have a shadow" observed Montblanc.

"Give her back" yelled Arc. He charged forwards before his friends could stop him and threw a punch with his left. Tresian easily caught the fist with his free hand. "Hah. You'll have to let go if you want to attack me."

"Oh, really" asked Tresian, his lips curling in a slight smile.

"Arc! Look at his shadow" shouted Orchid. Arc glanced down just too late to see what clockwork was betrayed by the light. An extra set of arms, both weilding nunchaku swung out from behind the Shadowless's back, one striking him at his neck, the other hitting the side of his head. Reeling from the blows, Arc staggered backwards and fell to the ground.

"See you later, Arcanis" smiled Tresian before disappearing into the shadows. But Arc only heard one thing before he passed out.

"Ni-kun"


	32. Sequence to the Clockwork Grape

Arrr...: Finally got this chapter done. Man, free of the evil grip of summer school. Well, so far, Zanisha and Hislight have a pretty good idea of the name pattern. The fact that there's twelve hours on a clock and twelve clockwork shadowless is completely accidental. Also, I do not know twelve languages, so don't expect a different language for each name. Anyways, due to misinterpretations, the prize has been changed to one Riku plushy or one Rikku plushy, the first by popular demand, and the second for the purposes of driving the Arc plushy insane. Therefore, the second really has no appeal to Demon Surfer and Zanisha, who have Montblanc plushies, though the twins have an Arc plushy. Now I have a Sephy plushy, thanks to DS. Although, I didn't really mind having my Ansem plushy stolen. She IS my girlfriend, kind of, so it's not that bad if she seduces away my various plushies. Besides, she was making sad pouty faces at me for it.

Last of all, Hislight has won a Jenine plushy, complete with monkey wrench for bashing Arc. This is because she happened to be reveiwer 1-0-0. Yay... I'm in the triple digits! Anyways, RR.

* * *

_tick_

"They took her."

"Arcanis, you've got to stop blaming yourself for this" Jenine said tiredly, having repeated it too many times for her to count.

"No" shouted Arc, sitting up from his bed. "It's my fault. They only took her because I came back."

"Hey, I'm surprised you survived the encoutner, much less managed to destroy his clockworks" said Ricksen, trying to calm him down.

"Yeah, Cloud was right" supported Orchid. "The Shadowless are a lot tougher than the Heartless, even if those weren't even full Shadowless."

There was an awkward silence as no one knew what to say without possibly upsetting Arc further. Finally, he swung his legs out of bed and got up.

"I'm going after her" he said simply, pulling on his shirt and grabbing his coat.

"Hey, wait" exclaimed Jenine as he brushed past her.

"Don't try and stop me, Jenine. I'm going and that's final."

"No" she started. "I wasn't trying to stop you. It's just..."

"What" he asked impatiently.

"Just come to my room, okay? I got something for you."

Before he could answer, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him down the corridor.

"What was that about, kupo" asked Montblanc.

"Ah, Jenine was up last night working on something. She's a grade-A mechanic, y'know" explained Ricksen. "No clue what it is though."

"Maybe another fist thingy" supplied Orchid. "I mean, the pipe worked okay last night against two of them with us there, but if he gets caught by more..."

"You weren't going to let him go out alone, surely" asked Ricksen increduously.

"No, no, of course not" she sputtered nervously, waving her hands in front of her. "I mean, if there were lots of those clockwork things and we got separated, well..."

"Well, I hope that doesn't happen"said Ricksen. "There's twelve clockworks in Vins's personal command, but with those two out, that makes ten."

"Well, let's go see what Arc and Jenine are up to, kupo" said Montblanc.

"Yeah, she never said we couldn't come too, right" reasoned Orchid.

"I don't know..." said Ricksen dubiously. "She kind of gets touchy about having an audience while she works."

But the other two had already left Arc's room and headed down the hall. The big man shrugged, then followed after, being just as curious as them as to what Jenine had cooked up this time.

_tick_

"I'm not going to lie to you, Arcanis" started Jenine. "This is going to hurt. A lot."

"Just do it already" said Arc impatiently, gritting his teeth as he waited for her to start.

"Okay, fine" said Jenine, adjusting her goggles, which she now had over her eyes. She pressed the machinery to the metal interface, then quickly twisted it into place.

Orchid and Montblanc had just reached the door and the girl was just about to open it when she heard a horrible scream, filled with sharp pain. She quickly barged in, moogle close behind.

"What was that" she demanded. She looked at the scene. Arc was lying on the work desk, which had mostly been cleared off and Jenine was sitting on her stool to his right. Orchid couldn't help but stare at Arc as he sat up, still gritting his teeth. He was gripping his right arm.

"That really hurt, you know" grumbled Arc to the mechanic as he sat up.

"I _told_ you" sighed Jenine, pushing up her goggles off her eyes. "You should learn to trust me on these things."

"It's.. he's...uh... arm..." stuttered Orchid, pointing at it. Arc looked down and tested it out. His new arm was the size and shape of a normal arm. Smooth metal framwork covered parts of it, though most of the machinery was exposed, including the elbow. The back of his new right hand was covered in metal plating, and so was each finger, but the other sides of them were open with the exception of a few grips on the finger tips and palms, leaving the complex machinery in full veiw. Orchid stared in wonder as she watched the tiny gears and hydraulics move as Arc waved each finger individually, then all at once.

"Beautiful, ne" smirked Jenine proudly.

"Very smooth" replied Arc, turning his hand this way and that. "Now I can scratch my head with my right without knocking myself out."

"What was that screaming about" asked Orchid, her sense of wonder wearing off.

"Oh, that" asked Jenine. "That's just from when all the nerves connected. It's quite a shock to recieve all the new senses."

"Kupopo... so it's like how when you feel hot and cold at the same time" asked Montblanc, flicking an ear.

"Exactly. Your brain gets confused and registers it as pain" said Jenine"and Arcanis here just felt every opposite a nerve can send."

"That _really_ hurt" complained Arc again.

"Oh, quit whining, ya ninny" chuckled Ricksen as he came in. "What's a little pain to getting a new arm"

"Yeah, jeez, Arc" teased Orchid.

"Whatever" he grouched. "Anyways, this is nice and all, but I won't be able to pound things with something this light, you know."

"That's why we have these, too" said Jenine, getting up and walking over to a pile of scrap metal that had accumulated in one corner of her room next to her bed. She started rummaging through, then, giving a rather indelicate noise, she started just throwing and kicking things out of the way. Orchid and Ricksen had to move back as half finished machines and pieces of metal flew across the room. "Here they are..."

She came back bearing sword and sheild. The sword was beautifully made. The polished steel blade was as long as Arc's arm and had a smooth blood channel down the center. The double edges and point were all extremely sharp and gleamed brightly, even in the dull electric lights of the fugitive hideout. The cross guard was golden colored and formed a daimond around a similarly shaped emerald set in it, then below the diamond fanned out in a V shape, the arms pointing down. The hilt was wrapped in a tough black leather grip, and the end had round emerald set in the pommel. It was masterful workmanship, and Orchid could only wonder where they got it from.

"We repaired Sequence after you left, Arcanis" explained Jenine. "Or, at least, we gathered up all the pieces and left 'em alone together. You know how it is."

Arc merely nodded as he took the sword from her in his left. He turned it in his hand, examining the blade for faults, and finding none, swung it through the air a few times. "Ah, yes. Sequence, the living sword."

"And we have your shield too" added Jenine, handing it to him. He took this in his right. It was small, about a foot across, and seemed to be more for deflecting single blows than shielding all of him. The round shield was engraved with a griffon design on the front, and the steel shone brightly.

"Heh. Starting to feel like Arcanis again..." trailed off Arc. He threw a few punches with the shield in his hand and gave a satisfied grin. He stood up and paced about the room, getting back the feel for walking around armed.

"Wow... Arc looks cool" breathed Orchid. Montblanc nodded.

Arc then walked over to Jenine. "Thanks."

"Uh, no problem" replied the girl, flushing slightly and turning away.

"Well, time to go rescue Melina" said Arc, ignorant of her reaction and walking out of the room.

"About time" shouted Orchid enthusiastically, about to run after him before being stopped by Jenine.

"Wait a second" she said, pulling Orchid back into the room.

"What is it" asked the younger girl.

"You're the keybearer, right" asked Jenine. Orchid nodded. "Well, I have something for you then."

She walked over to her workdesk and pulled open a drawer. From there, she brought out a ornately carved wooden box. Blowing off the dust, she set it on the desk as Orchid walked over.

"What's that, kupo" asked Montblanc, flittering up and onto the desk so he could see. Jenine opened the box and carefully picked up what looked to be a seed from the velvety cushion inside.

"This" she said, holding it delicately in her palm"is the seed of the Clockwork Grape."

"Clockwork Grape" asked Orchid curiously, peering at the oddly shiny seed.

"Oh, yes" replied Jenine. "The Clockwork Grapes are the only reason this city can exist. Their fruits contain power that can be used to fuel machines or Vins's time projects."

"So what's it have to do with me" Orchid asked bluntly, not sure where she was going.

" 'Amidst the pages of magic, the clockwork seed shall grow timely miracles of the key'" recited the older girl. "Or at least, that's what old man Barlep said. He was the one who gave me the seed before he passed away. I don't know what the first part means, but after seeing and hearing about your keyblade, I was sure this was meant for you."

She handed the seed to Orchid, who took it reverantly in both hands.

"But what am I supposed to do with it" asked the girl plaintively. Jenine blinked at her, just as lost.

"Kupopo... I think I know..." started Montblanc. "It's because of the first part. Could you give me the seed and the keychain for Spellweaver"

"Uh, sure" said Orchid. She handed the seed to the moogle, then started searching her pockets for the little book. Finally finding it, she handed the blue book to Montblanc.

"I think... if it must grow 'amidst pages of magic', then we'll have to plant it there first, kupo" reasoned the moogle as he undid the latch of the tiny volume. He turned to the middle, then put the seed between the pages there. Then, he closed the little book and redid the latch. "And now we wait."

They didn't have to wait long. As they watched, miniature tome began to shake, and they saw several green vines crawl out from amidst the pages and put forth vibrant leaves. The vines crawled across the covers, then back into the pages, leaving them with a blue book ribboned with miniature vines. Wordlessly, Orchid picked up the book by the thin chain coming off it as she brought forth her keyblade and hooked it to the empty ring at the end of Nearbloom.

"It's..." started Jenine as she stared.

"...changing" finished Ricksen, who had been half forgotten in all of it.

The keyblade became engulfed in light, and when it faded, it was no longer Nearbloom. The leaves along the twisting vine handguards had been replaces with small, purple spheres, each with a little clock-like timer on the outward facing side. The bud at the end of the blade had transformed into a large bunch of oversized grapes, though these were each perfectly round, and each had a circular timer like the grapes on the handguards.

"Behold, the Clockwork Grape" grinned Ricksen as Orchid marveled at the new blade. She could feel the magical power pulsing from it, and a strange ticking sensation too.

"I can do Demi again... but I feel a new power too..." she said distantly. She pointed her hand at a one of the many whirring tidbits of machinery around the room. "Slow."

A clock with roman numerals made of energy appeared before the targetted gizmo and they watched as the hands of the clock slowed down to almost a crawl. As they did, so too did the inner workings of the machinery, until each click of cogs was minutes apart.

"That'll come in handy" commented Ricksen.  
"Especially against Vins's clockworks" added Jenine.

"How so, kupo" asked Montblanc.

"Yeah, why" added Orchid, back to being herself.

"It'll even the odds against his more powerful ones" said Jenine. "They can slice time, just like how me and Arcanis can."

"Huh? Whadday mean, 'slice time'" asked Orchid.

"Some Adonians have the ability to slice time" she explained. "The power to cut the seconds into pieces and exist in each of those pieces. To move and think within those fractions of time. The better you are at it, the smaller you can slice time, and in effect, the faster you can move.When you do, everything around you seems to slow down, except for others who are slicing time. The power is said to originate from the orginal creator of this world, but over the years, it's become diluted to varying degrees. It still runs the most powerful in the royal family. In fact, it's rumored that Vins can even create his own time, and can slice it until everything else comes to a standstill if he really tries."

"And some of his clockworks have this ability too, kupo" asked Montblanc.

"That's right" confirmed Ricksen. "From what you told us, Arcanis's just lucky he encountered two of his that can't, down there in the tunnels. But for the others, that 'Slow' spell is gonna come in real handy, since you two can't slice time."

"Since Arc can, how come he never did before he came here" wondered Orchid.

"Probably because he can only do it here in Adonis" said Jenine. "In most worlds, time is probably just a dimension, like up-down, side to side, or back and forth. But here, it's an actual force, and can be even harnessed for energy, like in Vins's time cannon."

"Hey, come on" yelled Arc, running back into the room. "Are you guys coming or what"

"Oh, sorry" apologized Orchid. She nodded her thanks to Jenine and Ricksen, then ran out after Arc with Montblanc.

"Come back safe, Arcanis" sighed Jenine softly.

_tick_

"He's coming, Lord Mousseux" reported the winged man.

"Very well" replied Vins. "I don't expect Tresian will make it back before he catches him. Send Shisan and Fivare out to back him."

"Yes, my master" said the man as he bowed, then left.

"Hmm..." pondered the white haired lord. "I don't expect Tresian shall survive."

"Awww... that's too bad" pouted Elf.

"Do we get to play with the girl" asked Zwolf hopefully.

"I doubt it" replied Vins. "In fact, I imagine Shisan and Fivare will just barely make it back alive."

"Then what was the point of sending them" asked one of the twin girls.

"Because. The girl was merely bait to draw out Arcanis. I needed a threat delivered to him, but first I had to grab his attention."

"Ooh, what's the threat" asked the other twin eagerly.

"Tell us, tell us" demanded the first.

"All in due time" answered Vins. "All in due time."


	33. Names and Goodbyes

Alive: Well, looks like I'm back. After reading through all of Black Orchid, I decided to pick it up again and finish it, maybe. Anyways, here's the next chapter. I don't know how many of my old readers are still on here though.

* * *

_tick_

"Ah, so you found me" murmured Tresian mildly. He stood calmly in the new morning light as Arc came running into the square with Orchid and Montblanc not far behind. In one arm he held a struggling Melina, and in his other three he held nunchaku.

"Let her go" growled Arc, glaring at the clockwork Shadowless.

"I think not" replied Tresian, blurring out in a fading blue. He reappeared on the roof of a low building. "Come and get her if you want."

"Fine" spat Arc, blurring out as Tresian did. Orchid and Montblanc were left with only a wake of air to follow.

The world was hazed in blue around him as he chased Tresian. Clocks moved with agonizing slowness in the frozen world as Arc ran past. Only he and Tresian moved normally in this sliced time.

"Is this the best you can do" mocked the clockwork. As he ran, the air around him blurred a deeper blue, then he was gone, having sliced time even thinner around him. Arc cursed, then stepped it up and the world turned darker around him. Soon, Tresian was back in sight as he jumped up various ledges on a tower, finally coming upon an enormous clock hand which extended like an incomplete bridge into thin air. Arc jumped onto the hand at its base and saw that Tresian had resumed normal time and stood at its tip. Arc followed suit and slowed himself until the world around him had resumed color and motion.

"I've had enough. Let her go" demaded Arc, striding forwards.

"Ni-kun! Behind you" shouted Melina, pointing one arm above and behind Arc as she struggled with Tresian.

"What" Arc pivoted on his heel and turned to see two forms land lightly at the other end of the clock hand. One was a pale young woman, dressed all in black robes and had short black hair. She carried a scythe, and as far as Arc could tell, she had no legs, as her feet nor robes never touched the ground when she landed. The other figure was a little girl, with blonde hair tied up in two childish ponytails, wearing an overly cutesy little dress. She danced about, throwing around and catching several juggling clubs of the spiky metal variety. Looking at their shadows, he saw the first had a clockwork lower torso, what he assumed allowed her to float, while the other had clockwork arms and upper torso. He also knew that these two could slice time.

"Ah" said Tresian mildly. He nodded to the floating woman in black, then to the girl. "Shisan. Fivare. I see that Lord Mousseux has sent you."

"Yup yup" said Fivare enthusiastically. "We're supposed to deliver a message too"  
Shisan merely nodded.

"And what would that be" growled Arc impatiently, swinging about Sequence in his left hand.

"You will come to the Tower" hissed Shisan. Her voice sounded like the whisper of the grave. "You will come, or he shall shutdown the Clockwork Heart."

"He wouldn't dare" shouted Arc. "That'd stop all of Adonis"

"And effectively kill everyone, more or less" murmured Tresian.

"He _would_ dare" assured Shisan.

"It's not like having no time would bother him at all" grinned Fivare.

"So will you come with us peacefully" asked Tresian.

"Never."

"So be it."

_tick_

"Hurry up! Arc could be in trouble" shouted Orchid.

"And we aren't, kupo" asked Montblanc as he cast Fira on a gearfreak that got too close. "Besides, how do you know where he went"

"I just do." Orchid scrambled up the ladder, quickly followed by an airborne Montblanc. Pooling shadows in front of her turned into Heartless, easily dispatched by the Clockwork Grape. Orchid hastily bashed her way through a knot of gearfreaks, ignoring their shrieking protests. She looked around, then stopped and pointed. "Up there"

They could see a large clock hand extending like a jutting cliff fall from a tower, and on it they could see figures moving. As they ran towards it, they watced as the figures blurred out of sight, except for one, hunched on the ground.

"How do we get up there" cried Orchid frantically, seeing no quick way up. If they took the spiraling stairs, they might never arrive in time, but the network of ledges up the side of the tower started about fifteen feet above her head.

"Aero" cast Montblanc in response. Gusts of wind formed around them, soon picking the two of them up and off the ground. They landed lightly on the lowest ledge.

"Good thinking" thanked Orchid. She started climbing her way up, as quickly as she could. "Let's go"

_tick_

Arc blocked, parried, swung and countered in the slow world around him. Each of his opponents gradually started to slice time thinner, but he was able to match them. Even so, three against one was not a fight he could win.

A blow to his back from one of Fivare's clubs sent him flying off the edge of the clock hand on which they stood. Acting quickly, he stabbed Sequence into the side of it, preventing his fall, then quickly swung up and back onto the precarious ground. He swung a punch with his right, shield in hand, and it caught Tresian in the jaw. Ducking low to avoid Shisan's scythe, he kicked out and knocked Tresian's legs out from under him, buying Arc a little more time. He jumped over the fallen form of Tresian to avoid the scythe again, but only to land in the way of a flying metal club. Fivare giggled delightedly as Arc stumbled back, now cornered at the end of the clock hand.

"Fine..." muttered Arc grimly. He coiled his leg muscles, then jumped high into the air as the three clockwork Shadowless watched. "Planet Diver"  
Unnatural flames burst out around him as he shot downwards. Arc sliced time as thin as he could in an attempt to strike before his enemies could dodge. He had almost hit, when a shout pierced the timeless air.

"Slow"

The blue haze of the time-sliced world ripped away like a torn veil around the four combatents, Arc slammed down with a resounding crash on nothing but metal; the three clockworks had moved quickly out of range.

"Arc" shouted Orchid as she ran up along the clock hand, keyblade at the ready. "Is Melina okay"

"Orchid, look out" he shouted.

Orchid turned, then dodged out of the way of Shisan's attack. Montblanc had similarly just missed being struck by one of Fivare's clubs. They quickly dodged several more attacks, then ran to the huddled form of Melina, where Arc had already gone. The three of them faced outwards against the three clockwork Shadowless.

"Our quarrel is not with you, Keyblade Master" spat Tresian. He edged forwards, then dodged back as Arc tried to maul him with his shield.

"It is if you want to harm Arc" replied Orchid.

"Then prepare for your death" hissed Shisan. As one, the three clockworks lunged at the group.

"Aero" shouted Montblanc, momentarily throwing them back with his barrier.

"Thundara" shouted Orchid. Bolts of lightning fell down among them, striking the clockworks.

Tresian jumped at Arc, barely dodging the thrust of his sword. Arc reeled as several nunchaku hit him about the head and shoulders, his shield arm coming up too slow. Tresian swung again, but before he could strike, he was sent flying back by a blast of icy wind sent by Montblanc.

"Arc, grab Melina and get out of here! We'll hold them off for now, and meet back later" shouted Orchid as she parried a scythe blow from Shisan, who dodged out of the way. Shisan hung safely out of range, floating in the air beyond the clock hand. Above one of the clockwork's hand, a ball of shrieking darkness formed, a spell in the making. Orchid readied her keyblade. "Oh, no you don't! Shooting Star"

As Orchid unleashed the special attack she had recieved from Hercules, throwing her keyblade with unerring accuracy, and Montblanc let off a full salvo of magic on the other two, Arc ran over the the frightened, huddled girl.

"Melina, come on, let's go" urged Arc, pulling at her sleeve. "We have to get out of here"

The girl cried out and only curled up smaller as an attack rocked the whole structure on which they stood. She began crying frantically. "Help me Dar'ck-sempai, help me Dar'ck-sempai, I don't want to be here"

"My brother" questioned Arc, his voice tinged with envy and anger at who she chose to call on. "Why are you calling my brother"

"Dar'ck-sempai, Dar'ck-sempai, Dar'ck-sempai..."

"I'm the one who's here" shouted Arc, as chaos rained down around him. "I'm the one who's gonna save you"

He raised his sword skyward, and shimmered briefly red.

"IFRIT"

A giant ball of fire came crashing out of the heavens at his call, slamming down with uncontrollable force behind Arc. In its wake, the fiery demon god stood, flaming fur, horns and all. Arc stared angrily down at the Melina, who sat in stunned silence.

"Now, listen" shouted Arc, swinging his arm at her as he stepped onto Ifrit's back. "My name is Arc, don't you _ever_ call me Ni-kun again"

Meanwhile, Orchid had just sent Shisan flying out and away from the battle temporarily with her final strike and had joined Montblanc in holding back the other two clockwork shadowless.

"They're" started Orchid, pausing as she blocked a blow"getting faster"

"The spell's wearing off" shouted the moogle as he cast Cure on them.

"I'm all out of power, though" cried Orchid as she was struck by a metal club.

"So die" roared Tresian, leaping at them for the kill.

He never made it.

Great fiery claws of flame tore through the clockwork as if he were nothing more than a discarded ragdoll. Ifrit flew by, trailing fire with Arc on his back. They were the embodiment of fury.

"Don't touch them" shouted Arc, as he sliced through the still fighting upper half of Tresian. The Shadowless dispersed, his clockwork remains falling to the ground far below. He turned to his next target.

Fivare let out a scream and ran, but not fast enough. She disappeared as Ifrit and Arc tore through her, her inner workings shattering in the face of such destructive power.

The man and demon turned, just in time for Arc to raise his shield to block the returned Shisan's strike. Sequence lashed out, Ifrit charge forwards, and the clockwork Shadowless was no more.

"Arc" shouted Orchid as he shot by overhead. She turned to Montblanc. "Where's he going"

"It looks like he's headed for..." started the moogle as he made sure Melina was okay"that tower"

Following the pointing rod, Orchid caught sight of the tower at the center of the city. Sure enough, that was where the Ifrit-borne warrior was flying.

_tick_

"So...he's finally coming back."

_tick_

The two of them, demon and man, tore at the outer gates with little success. Cursing in frustration, Arc leapt back out of the way and yelled at Ifrit.

"Do it"

"HELLFIRE" intoned the demon. Raising a single clawed hand, a pillar of fire erupted under the gate, engulfing it in the inferno. Swinging his arms at it, he swung two monstrous balls of fire at the barrier. There was an enormous explosion, and when the smoke and flames cleared, the gate wasn't there.

"You can go now" said Arc through gritted teeth as he strode forwards into the destruction. Behind him, Ifrit discarnated, becoming nothing more than a red glow which soon disappeared.

He walked down familiar paths towards the tower, ignoring the well kept gardens and vineyards. He only stopped when he reached the Thorn Gate. Here stood two clockworks on each side of the opening, holding a thorny metal rope between them. He took a step forwards. The clockworks moved.

"Only those of the royal house shall pass beyond our eye,

If you cannot slice time that thin, then leave or you shall die."

As they finished the age-old rhyme, their arms swung, and the air blurred blue as the guardians sliced time, the thorny lines becoming a blur. Arc stepped forwards, then stopped at a familiar voice.

"Arcanis"

Jenine came running up behind him.

"What are you doing here, Jenine" he asked coldly.

"I'm here to stop you" she said. "I can't let you go in there. Vins will kill you"

"I'm sure he will."

"Then why are you here" Jenine demanded.

"Because I'm finishing this" said Arc. Then softly, so that Jenine could barely hear it"Because I'm going home."

Jenine cried out with tears in her eyes as he stepped forwards and blurred out into the onslaught of the Thorn Gate guardians. Running forwards, she sliced time around her and jumped in after him just as Orchid and Montblanc came running up.

"Jenine" shouted Orchid as the girl came flying back at them, bruised, battered and cut.

"But...only the royal house can..." she said, stunned.  
"Jenine, what happened" asked Orchid. "Where's Arc"

"He...he's in there..." she said quietly, a tear rolling down her cheek. "And he told me to give you a message..."

"What? What message"

"He says...'Goodbye, Orchid'."


	34. Coming Home to Days Gone By

Relief: Man, am I ever glad that I wrote up a planner for the whole story. Otherwise, I'd be so lost! Heh...well, glad to see some of my readers are back! You guys are a real motivation boost! Anyways, it's good to be back. And now, thanks to DS, I've got Sephy plush, a Riku plush, a Sora plush, and an Axel plush! Well, this chapter introduces some more clockwork Shadowless, who I assure you all have names having to do with their numbers. And also, now we finally get Arc's full history! The mystery is revealed!

Well, RR, hope you enjoy the Chapter!

* * *

_tick_

"I wonder who it'll be" sighed Ricksen.

"Who what'll be?" asked Orchid.

"Who's gonna die," he answered grimly. The mood around the hideout was downtrodden and depressed. Even the ever optimistic Orchid was looking down.

"Why does anyone have to die?" asked Orchid, turning to face the man.

"Because," he explained "it almost never rains here."

"Kupo...so what does that have to do with dying" asked Montblanc.

"They say, 'When rain falls, so does royalty'," quoted Jenine, looking out the window at the pouring rain. She had been almost silent since Arc had disappeared into the Clockwork Tower. Melina was off crying in her room. "Everytime it's rained, one of the royal family has died."

"It's rained only three times in all my memory," added Ricksen. "Once when Lady Winia, Vins's mother, passed on, next the day Lord Mousseux died, and last the day when Arc led the rebellion." He sighed. "We thought it was a sign that Vins would fall that day."

"But...if he didn't fall, and it rained, doesn't that make that superstition false" reasoned Orchid.

"It puzzles me too," said the man, shaking his head. "I just don't get it. And how did Arc get in the Tower? Did he open the secret entrance?"

Jenine shook her head sadly. "No. He just walked right in. Right through the Thorn Gate."

"What" the big man exclaimed. "But that's impossible! Only members of the royal house can slice time that thin"  
"He said he was going home."

"That...that doesn't make sense..." stuttered Ricksen.

"It does. You just can't believe it," sighed Jenine, still staring into the pouring rain.

"What's going on" asked Orchid, entirely confused. "I don't get it."

"It all makes sense now," said the older girl. "Do you remember, Ricksen? The day that Arcanis and Dar'ck came to us."

"Of course I do" snorted Ricksen. "Why would I forget? They were standin' out there like two lost puppies so we pulled them...out of...the pouring...rain..."

His voice trailed off into silence.

"They never did tell us where they were from. And that was the day old Lord Mousseux died. The day Vins announced his presence to the world, and exiled all who threatened his reign. Which would include any brothers he had."

"Are you saying that..." asked Orchid, starting to see the picture.

"The day that they led the rebellion. It rained then too. And they failed. They fell" said Jenine. "That day, royalty did fall."

"Kupo...a prince in our midst...and we never knew" breathed Montblanc in stunned shock.

"How could you not know" asked Orchid. "I mean, they show up the day Vins gets rid of his brothers? Couldn't you make the connection"

Ricksen shook his head. "The royal family is shrouded in mystery. Almost no one's been inside the Clockwork Tower, and no one knows anything of the royal family. Heck, we didn't even know Lord Mousseux had a wife until they held her funeral. There's no way we'd know she had a son, or how many. When Vins announced his taking the throne, we had never even seen him before. We never even suspected he had any brothers."

"But he did. And now they're going to meet" sighed Jenine. They all looked at her for more, but she had gone quiet. Orchid thought she might also be crying, but she wasn't sure.

"So is that it, kupo" asked Montblanc. "We just wait until one of them comes out and announces the other dead"

"No" shouted Orchid, surprising everyone. "I'm not gonna let him go! We have to help him"

Everyone in the hideout stared at her in stunned silence.

"We're going to help him" she said in tone that would not be argued with. Then she said quietly"I've already lost one friend to this adventure. I won't lose another."

She rounded on Ricksen then.

"You said there was a secret enterance" she demanded. "Show me."

"But...it's useless" said Ricksen, backing away slightly in the face of such determination. "It won't open. There's a keyhole, but not even our master lockpicks can even so much as make it click. The thing's a dead end, though we're sure it goes into the Tower."

"A key, huh" said Orchid. "I wonder..."

Jenine stood up, the first movement she had made since sitting down by the window. "I'll show you."

"But, Jenine" Ricksen started to protest.

"We're going, Ricksen. You can come or not. She has the key, and we're going to save Arcanis."

_tick_

"Welcome home, Master Arcanis."

Arc ignored the clockwork as he walked up all too familiar steps. He was too far lost in his own thoughts to notice a mere servant, something he had lived the first ten years of his life with. He remembered days long since passed. Early days, when the three of them used to play games of knights and bandits around the tower. Before Vins started becoming distant to him and Dar'ck. He remembered their father, the stern, meticulous man he was, remembered his hearty laugh and great long beard. He remembered their mothers; Vins, he and Dar'ck were only half brothers. Polygamy was sometimes allowed by the royal family, for cases such as they had had; Vins's mother, Lord Moussuex's favorite wife, had always been frail and delicate, as had Vins himself. Lady Winia had died in childbirth, and it was feared Vins would die also within the first few years of his life. That was why Lord Mousseux had sired both Arcanis and Dar'ck approximately one year after Vins's birth; they were twins from seperate mothers.

He remembered their playfights; even then, the boys had each developed their unique styles. With the help of their mentor, a clockwork masterpiece made by Lord Moussuex's father, they perfected them. Vins had favored the long, slim sword; he had always had his eye on the Kikuichimonji, the master sword that had hung above the mantel. Dar'ck himself had always favored two swords, while Arc had liked to play the traditional knight, sword and shield, though he had even then had the tendancy to use the shield as just another weapon. While Vins had never been quite as fast, or as strong, or had such endurance as his brothers, he made up for it with reflex, finesse and skill.

Vins had started drifting from his brothers after they started their lessons in clockwork when he was eight, and they were seven. Only Vins recieved a full education in such matters, being the eldest son and heir to the throne; perhaps that was why he had grown seperate from them. Arc and Dar'ck had only recieved rudimentary teachings in clockwork, such as the history of the city, the workings of the Clockwork Tower, and the Clockwork Heart. After their lessons stopped, they didn't see Vins for more than a month, and when they met him again, he sported the clockwork armor that he wore almost constantly from then on, and still wore to this day.

Some years later, the old Lord Moussuex died of illness, and Vins was named Lord of Adonis. He had announced his presence to the world that very day, there in the rain, from the Clockwork Tower, and the masses had cheered in the streets, and mourned for their loss. He had waved the Kikuichimonji high in the sky that day.

Arc and Dar'ck had known what was in store for them: death, or exile. They were threats to Vins's reign, as other possible successors. So they had left the Clockwork Tower, but not before arming themselves from their father's personal armory. Arc had taken a small shield that had suited him, and also a sword, which he only discovered later to be the legendary Sequence, the living sword. Dar'ck had armed himself with two strange mechanisms that had been long ago been given to Lord Mousseux, and two matching wooden-hilted blades, with matching wooden sheaths. These later turned out to be the blades Ayvuir blades, Red and Blue. The mechanism turned out to be things called "guns". Once armed, the brothers had fled the tower to hide in the city, until they came back later. And they would come back, and take on the tower. For they knew, Lord Mousseux had died of no illness. He had been poisoned by his own son.

The next six years of their life was spent living in the fugitive hideout. There, they had met Jenine, and Ricksen, and old man Barlep. There had always been people avoiding the timing laws of Adonis, but as Vins's rule progressed, laws became harsher, and more and more people fled, or were executed. Melina was only a little girl, but she was to be executed for the tardiness clause, her lateness had held up things for almost fifteen whole minutes. Arc had lead a group to save her. Jenine, with her knives, rained disorder and chaos, while Arc took out the guards. It had been Dar'ck who had pulled Melina from the jaws of death, and ever since then, she had always looked up to him. Life continued on, and nobody ever suspected who Arc and Dar'ck were.

Then was the rebellion. Finally thinking they were ready, they invaded the Clockwork Tower. Many lives were lost in the siege, but eventually they won through. More lives were lost in the destruction of the Thorn Gate, including old man Barlep, who sacrificed his life to finally jam the infernal mechanism. But the citizens of Adonis were determined to overthrow Vins's harsh rule, and they charged on through, despite the cost. Eventually, Dar'ck and Arc made it to the top of the Clockwork Tower, where they knew Vins would be. As the fighting raged below in the Tower, they faced their once loved brother. Much blood was shed. Most of it theirs.

Arc and Dar'ck were carried out by the survivors in shame and defeat, barely with their lives. Arc had lost his arm, Dar'ck, his eye. Sequence was shattered, and one of the rebels carried the fragments in a white cloth, stained red with blood. It had rained that day, yet Vins still stood. No one, but three royal princes, knew why.

After that, they had left. At the age of sixteen, the sky had opened up, and mysterious meteors had rained down. That was the time of the first Heartless attack, and that was when the brothers made good their escape, their exile, with the help of the gummi blocks, and were not to be seen again in Adonis for at least four years.

That was also when Vins had begun his study of the Heartless, and the darkness of the heart. He admired them, yet was disgusted by them. He wanted to become everything they were not. And when he was visited by a beautiful lady, all in white, he learned all about them, his desires, her power, and much, much more. And that was when his shadow started to fade.

Her voice was like a call from out of eternity.

The brothers, Arcanis and Dar'ck, had only been in exile for a year, when they became seperated. The fighting had been fierce, and each thought the other dead. A year after that, Arc had landed at Hollow Bastion, and become a citizen there. He made new friends there, and tried to forget his old home, the brothers he lost, the family he had, the love he never knew. But he never forgot. Deep down, he would always remember them.

After that, it was all common knowledge. The Heartless had come, and the people had fled. He and a close group of friends had ended up in Traverse Town. And that was when he had met Orchid.

"Hello, Arky" said delighted twin voices, interrupting his thoughts. Looking up, he was greated by the sight of two identical girls, each in matching outfits. Their only differences were the numbers on their forheads, eleven and twelve.

"You two are new" said Arc coldly. "You must be some of Vins's personal pet clockworks."

He checked the stairs in front of the girls. Their shadows were mechanical clockwork mannequins.

"Shadowless clockworks" he corrected himself.

The girls nodded happily.

"Lord Mousseux wishes to see you" said Elf.

"What if I don't want to see him"

The two girls whipped out their arms, and suddenly, Arc found his arms bound in ribbons, tight and sturdy. They pulled a little, and his real arm started to bleed slightly.

"You will come" assured Zwolf with a smile.

_tick_

They paused and caught their breath on the stairwell. The way to the secret enterance was far from ungaurded, and there were more gearfreaks on the way as they spoke.

"It's not gonna open" persisted Ricksen, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"It will" said Jenine quietly.

"Come on, let's just go before more of those Heartless catch up with us" shouted Orchid as she ran up the stairs. They continued running, and the way became narrower. Soon, they could only walk two abreast, and it became crowded, as their group numbered almost twenty. The cry came from the back that the Heartless were coming.

"It's right up ahead" yelled Jenine, pointing over Orchid's shoulder. There was a light up ahead, and soon, the group was stumbling into a wide, brightly lit cavernous room. It was filled with Heartless.

"Take this" shouted Orchid as the battle began. "Moonlight Rave"

As Orchid blurred in and out of focus, trailing destruction, Montblanc set about unleashing every spell he knew. Meanwhile, Jenine wreaked havoc with her knives, while Ricksen helped some of the others hold the stairs against the flood of Heartless.

"Blizz-kupo" cried Montblanc as an air soldier slammed into his back. Immediately, he was buried under a pile of Heartless, shadows and gearfreaks tearing at him recklessly.

"Montblanc" shouted Orchid. The girl turned and charged the mass of darkness, the Clockwork Grape working overtime as she slowed the Heartless down to near stopping. Some of them were crushed under the power of Demi, then easily fell to the keyblade, only to be sucked back into it. She soon had them dispersed and destroyed, but the damage had been done. Montblanc lay only semi-conscious, bleeding profusely all over. "Cure"

White light covered the little moogle and fell sparkling, but he continued to bleed.

"Cure"

Again, there was a burst of holy magic, but the blood continued to flow.

_Flourish and prosper, bloom of need, the healing light is at your call._

The voice from eternity.

"Cura" cried Orchid. Intense bright light, surrounded the fallen form of the little moogle, and when it cleared, he bled no more. "Montblanc"

The moogle squeaked weakly as she hugged him tightly.

"Montblanc, I thought I'd lost you too" she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Kupo, I thought I had also" replied Montblanc. "How did you know that spell"

"It was..." started Orchid. But she couldn't remember. She shrugged. "It just seemed right."

"Well, I'm glad it did, or I might've..." He left the statement unfinished, as if mentioning it was to invite it.

"Orchid, Montblanc, you two okay" asked Jenine, running over as the Orchid put the moogle down.

"Yeah, now we are" she replied.

"Well, Ricksen and those guys are sure they can handle any Heartless coming up the stairs, so I'll show you up to the secret entrance."

They walked across the room to an opening opposite to where they had come in. Walking up a short flight of stairs, they were followed by Ricksen and a few others.

"What are you doing" asked Jenine.

"I just wanted to see how you intended to open the blasted thing" replied Ricksen. "Besides, the other guys can hold the stairs. It's narrow, they can only come a few at a time."

Jenine shrugged, the stopped when they reached the top. There was a door, with a keyhole in its center.

"That's the door" said Ricksen. "Do whatever magic you mean to do."

Instinctively, Orchid raised her keyblade level with the keyhole. A beam of light shot out, and there was an audible click. The door slid easily open into the wall.

Ricksen gave a low whistle. "Now _that's_ handy."

Orchid stepped through cautiously into the dark beyond, followed closely by Montblanc and Jenine.

"You sure that's a good" Ricksen never finished, because the door slammed shut again behind the three, sealing him and the others from them. Pounding on the door as the three inside did the same, the portal refused to open, and this time, there was no keyhole.

"Ricksen, gearfreaks" came the shout. Ricksen turned, then turned back, then turned again. Giving one last look at the door, he sighed and ran down the stairs. They could worry about that later. They had Heartless to worry about now.

_tick_

Lights suddenly shone in the dark. Shielding their eyes as they adjusted, the trio looked around.

Sourceless laughter filled the air.

"Well, well, well" said the voice. "I see the Keyblade Master has come to pay a visit. I'm honored."

"Who are you? Where are you" demanded Orchid.

"Right here." He stepped out of the shadows and into the light. He had short black hair and an almost triangular face. He had a well muscled physique that was struck by a scar down one arm, all of this displayed prominently by his lack of any clothes other than some tough looking old pants. He had no weapons apparent. What he did have, however, was a clock in the middle of his chest. A big, analog clock. His shadow showed it and some inner extensions to be his only clockwork parts. "I am Kuroku."

"Get out of my way" snarled Jenine, several knives in hand, ready to be thrown.

"I don't think so" said Kuroku. "Master Vins is not expecting you. And he would so hate to have unwelcome guests."

The trio watched warily as the clockwork began swinging his arms about in fluid motions. The hands of the clock in his chest began moving double time, and Orchid took action when she noticed the familiar blue shimmer about him.

"Slow" she shouted. The clock hands suddenly came to almost a complete stop. "Hah, so now you can't slice time"

"Is that what you think" mocked Kuroku, grinning widely. As he spoke, his clock hands started to gain speed again, and the blue shimmer returned.

"What? Did he break the spell" asked Jenine.

"No" smiled Kuroku. "I'm just this fast. Without that infernal magic, I'd be even faster."

He blurred out, only to reappear when Jenine blurred out and came back blocking his strike. He dodged easily out of the way with inhuman agility as she countered.

"Fira" cried Montblanc as he reappeared. The clockwork only smiled and blurred out, the fireball missing entirely.

"Where'd he" started Orchid. She was interrupted as she was sent sprawling by a blow to the back from Kuroku, appearing behind her. The clockwork Shadowless laughed, but his victory was short lived as Jenine blurred into existence to his right throwing knives. He leapt out of the way, but one still cut his arm.

"You...I'll get you for that" he snarled, blurring out again. Jenine also blurred out, slicing time around her.

Orchid and Montblanc could do nothing to help. Occasionally, when the two combatants slowed down enough to be visable, they would fire off spells, but they would always miss, and soon stopped as they realized they ran the risk of hitting Jenine. All they could do was wait, and hope for the best.

"Give up. You can't win" grinned Kuroku as he knocked away one of Jenine's knives.

"I will" shouted Jenine, whipping out another. In the blue haze of the time sliced world, she leapt at him, and he dodged to the side. However, she was ready for this and turned, knives flying. He ducked, lashing out with his legs. He recieved several cuts; she was sent sprawling.

Leaping out of the way as he slammed his fist down, Jenine quickly scrambled to her feet and leapt at Kuroku again. He turned, and caught one of her arms. She slashed with her other hand, and he let go to avoid letting her cut his arm. He swung with his other hand, but she dodged to the side and thrust with her left, knife in hand, going for the throat. He caught her wrist once more with his hand, just barely before she cut him open, and his other hand went for her throat, catching her easily. He slowly began to crush her windpipe.

"Now...will you turn back" he asked grimly.

"Never" she rasped through gritted teeth. Then she swung her free arm, knife point at his chest, his clock. "Hastebreak"

There was a noise like shattering glass as she connected, and the world regained natural color once more. Stumbling back from his crushing grip, Jenine dropped her knives and started rubbing gingerly at her throat.

"What happened" asked Orchid, staring at the frozen form of Kuroku, as Montblanc cast cure on the young woman.

"I used Hastebreak" Jenine said, as the throbbing pain of her throat lessened. "It's a technique that would normally slow a person, like your spell. However, if the target is Hasted, or slicing time, it makes it backfire, and entirely Stops them."

"Wow...that's really cool" said Orchid as she poked at the Shadowless with her keyblade.

"Yeah, but I have to be close, and know their weak spot" said Jenine.

"Kupopo...what was his weak spot" asked Montblanc curiously.

"The black six on his clock" she replied, pointing to where her knife still stuck, piercing the bottem number of the clock in Kuroku's chest. "He was the sixth of the clockwork Shadowless, so I gambled that his six would be significant."

"Whatever, Arc's in trouble" shouted Orchid from the stairs out of the room, which she had already started climbing. "Let's go"

_tick_

Arc came to the final room, the uppermost level of the Clockwork tower, led by the clockwork Shadowless Elf and Zwolf. At the end of the room was a door, guarded by a man reading a book. He had long, shoulder blade length white hair, and pale, angular face, almost otherworldly. He wore a white trenchcoat, clean white shirt, and pristine white pants. He read a book, and behind him spread mechanical wings of such fury, complexity and beauty, that they were both awesome and terrible to behold.

"Hey, December" said Elf cheerfully.

"He's here to see Whitey-locks" smiled Zwolf.

The clockwork Shadowless named December said nothing, but merely moved aside.

The ribbons unwrapped from Arc's arms and he rubbed them where they had bound him. Then he walked up the stairs that had been gaurded by December.

Sometimes you have a choice. Sometimes your choices are already made. And sometimes, you have no choice at all.

It was raining up there on the roof.

"So you've come" said the figure that stood there, waiting for him. Vins turned and faced Arc. "Welcome back, dear brother."


	35. Lord Mousseux

Climax: This is it people. The final climactic battle for Adonis. And now we'll finally have all the names of the clockworks. For reference, since I shall be ending the contest and releasing all the names and meanings withing the next or after next chapter, the names as, in order, these: Monoa, Duo, Tresian, Shisan, Fivare, Kuroku, Sieten, Hachimi, Kyu, December, Elf, and Zwolf.  
Anyways, just one more chapter here, then we're moving on. This one's kind of long, and I've been gone for a while, so sorry for the wait. Here you people go! RR -Doomboy2000  
(shimatta! While editing these up nice, I found is horribly screwing them up! It's randomly deleting commas, periods, exclamation and question marks before end quotations. Crap.)

* * *

_tick_

"Come on, the top of the stairs is just ahead!" shouted Orchid as they raced up another flight of stairs. Behind her, Jenine ran, leaping two stairs at a time, Montblanc flying just in front of her. They came out at the end of the long ascent, and entered into glaringly bright lights.

"Well, well, well"chuckled a voice, its source unknown as their eyes did their best to adjust to the harsh lighting. "Looks like the six o'clock failed."

"More clockworks" growled Jenine, stepping forwards as the her eyes adjusted. They could make out the figure of a man, medium height and somewhat muscular build.

"Only one" he smiled. His eyes were inky black. "Only one, just little old me, little, harmless Sieten. Harmless as a fish. As a _Charcharadon carcharias_." His smile became a split-face grin. His teeth were sharp. "A great white shark."

"This guy's creeping me out" said Orchid nervously. She brought the keyblade to ready in front of her. They could see the clockwork fully now. His flamingly red hair stuck back behind his head at random angles, creating a sort of windblown look for him, provided that he had just come out of a hundred mile an hour wind. His eyes and grin portrayed an insanity that suggested that this might well be the case. He wore a tightfitting longsleeve black leather shirt which was missing the right arm, a glove of the same material on his left hand, and matching pants. He wore tough black combat boots. All of these had an assortment of straps and buckles holding them tightly to his form. His right arm was starkly mechanical, made up of a whole slew of mechanisms, their uses unknown to the trio that faced him. From his shadow, they could see that almost all of his right side was made of such mechanics. In his right hand, he held a strange machine, vaguely L-shaped, and made of angled black metal. It was a little larger than his hand, and it could be assumed from how he held it that it was some sort of weapon. Orchid had never seen anything like it. "What is that"

"This" asked Seiten, looking down at his hand, getting a look of astonishment as if he was surprised to find the mechanism in it. "Oh, this! You mean this little thing." He grinned again, then whipped his arm around, so that the thing was aimed at them. "This is a gun. It fires bullets. Bullets hurt you."

He pulled the trigger, and thunder filled the room.

The impact slammed hard into Orchid's side and she went down painfully on the floor with Jenine on top of her. The young woman had just tackled Orchid from the side while slicing time, just barely managing to knock the Keyblade Master out of the way of the bullet that the clockwork had fired.

"Are you alright" asked Jenine worriedly as she got up quickly, eyes on the clockwork as he grinned gleefully.

"Yeah..." groaned Orchid as she stumbled to her feet. "It's like a miniature cannon..."

"Only much, much faster, kupo" added Montblanc.

"Exactly" chuckled Sieten. "Let's see if you can dodge rapid fire."

"Thundara" cast Montblanc. Lightning ripped through the air, striking the gun. It was flung from Sieten's hand with a curse from him as his arm recoiled in reaction to the pain and electricity. "Quick, get it"

"On it" said Jenine smartly as she made a dash for the weapon. Sieten ran for it also, but was no where near making it as Jenine shimmered blue and blurred out, reappearing by the gun. She picked it up and turned back, only to come head on with a charging clockwork shadowless. Sieten barreled into her, knocking her over and grabbing the gun from her with a manic laugh, which was short lived. "Not so fast"

The gun suddenly sprouted a knife, then two more. Sieten dodged backwards, dropping the target as he avoided other incoming weapons. Jenine scrambled to her feet, more knives ready to throw.

Sieten hissed at her, then shifted back more so he could see both her and the other two he was against.

"You can't slice time, can you" noted Orchid. "Then this'll really kill you"

She raised the Clockwork Grape in front of her and pointed it at her target.

"Slow"

A clock emblem appeared in front of Sieten, its hands slowing down to nearly a crawl before it disappeared. The partial shadowless screamed his shock agonizingly slowly as Orchid smiled in truimph. But then his cry pierced the air, and he was charging towards her at full speed. Shooting past a shocked Montblanc, his hand snaked out and grabbed Orchid's throat, slamming her against the wall behind her, holding her with a strangle.

"H..how did you do that" croaked Orchid, as she struggled with his arm.

"I may not be able to slice time...but that's because I've got inertia." He grinned. "I can't be fast time, but I can't be slow time either. Your spell lasted only a few seconds." His grip tightened.

"Let her go" shouted Montblanc. "Thundara"

Another bolt of lightning fell, this time striking the clockwork on the back. He arched backwards with pain, letting go of the girl as he stumbled back a step, and that was all she needed. Whipping the keyblade around, the pointed it at his stomach, point blank.

"Fira"

There was an explosion, and Sieten went flying back across the room. Or at least he should have. Instead, he only skidded back a few yards.

"See" he grinned as he stepped back, dodging an attack from Jenine as she blurred by to get back with Orchid. "Inertia."

"Inertia or not, nothing's gonna stop me from moving you from here to dead, clockwork" snarled Jenine as she skidded to a halt in front of the other two.

"Well, see this" he asked, holding up his right arm, pointing it at them. "This is a gun too. It fires bullets. Bullets hurt you."

They barely had time to react as the mechanisms in his arm snapped and turned into place, moving his hand and forearm coverings out of the way, and locking the workings of his forearm and upperarm together at the joint, forming one long cannon. The opening was miniscule in comparison to the thickness of his arm, but the amount of mechanism behind it suggested whatever came out, no matter how small, would come out with great power. In a matter of seconds his arm had gone from limb, to limbripping cannon.

"Now die" he said, grinning his shark-tooth grin.

The noise was deafening as he fired. There was only time for one thought, one word as he did.

"Slow" shouted Orchid.

The air in front of her warped as the clock emblem slowed to a crawl, then dissappeared. Bullets that had been ripping towards them at tremendous speed and power swam through the air between them and the clockwork like fish. Instead of being instantaneous, the bullets would reach them in a matter of seconds. But that was all they needed.

"You can't... you should be dead" screamed Sieten in rage as they started to dodge out of the way.

"You know" said Jenine grimly, as she blurred in to time right beside him, knife to his throat"I was about to say the same thing to you."

The keyblade struck home, and clockwork shattered like glass.

The light of Sieten became nothing more than power for the keyblade.

_tick_

"So you finally came home, dear brother" said Vins dispassionately, long, silky white hair blowing in the wind and rain. "I knew you would. You were drawn here, by my power, my presences, my...perfection." He said this last part slowly, savoring the very word. "I have no shadow, Arcanis. That is because I have no darkness. I am light incarnate. I am power, and reason, and might. And now, my brother, one way or another, I shall finally remove the flawed, tainted thing that you call your self. You understand, don't you"

"Oh, I understand your offer well enough, brother" spat Arc. There was a flash of lightning, illuminating all in its glow. Arc's eyes burned just a moment longer after it faded. "And I choose death, rather than join you. Look at the monster you've become! You're not even human anymore"

"Exactly" he shouted exhaltingly. "I am much, much more than human. I am Shadowless, one without shadow, without sin, without impurity. You could be all this too, yet you throw it away for this...this _humanity_." He said it much as one might regard something so foul, that it seems to taint the mouth just by mentioning it.

"When people are given too much power, they can do three things" said Arc quietly, though his voice carried fine over the wind and rain, and crash of thunder. "They can deny it from themselves, control it, limit it. They can unleash it, and become mad in their power. Or they can go completely sane."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing" noted his brother quietly. There was a faint whirring of gears as he raised his hand and clutched his fist. "Power is to be grasped, sanity to be embraced, emotions to be forgotten, feelings to be crushed! These weak sympathies for the tired, useless, imperfect people of this world are nothing but hindrances in reason's path to perfection. Flaws will not be tolerated. This city will run, smooth as clockwork, perfect and pristine, no exception. No one can prevent me from perfecting Adonis. Not you. Not Dar'ck. Not your silly little street gang and key wielding little girl." Then he added in a low tone"Not even father."

"You killed our father...purely so you could run this city like a tyrant? Is that it" shouted Arc, swinging his sword through the falling water.

"He was weak. He couldn't muster the backbone to bring out this city's full potential."

"Is that what you think" snorted Arc disdainfully. "He was stronger than you'll ever be. He had a heart."

"A heart weak with frail humanity."

"You know Vins, we always had to wait for you. You were always the sickly child. Why don't you go back inside and play with your little clockwork toys before you catch cold out here in the rain"

Vins snarled and winced as though struck, his normally beautiful sculpted face contorting with rage into an ugly mask of fury. He raised his open hand out to the side, thumb downwards. "Kikuichimonji"

At his command, the stones under his hand in the floor glowed a bright white, and from that whiteness emerged the great sword of power, hilt first, sliding easily into its master's hand. The sword was a long, single bladed masterpiece, the hilt worked in red leather and gold weave. The katana was almost five feet long, thin, yet amazingly resilient and strong. Its reach was impressive, as was its sharpness.

"This almost seems familiar" said Vins with a grin as he crouched, bringing his blade into position. "Only this time, you're on your own. Do you really think you can beat me"

"I've grown stronger" assured Arc, readying Sequence and his shield. "And you've grown only weaker."

"You're just jealous" he countered.

"Why should I be jealous of a sick, frail, _imperfect_ little boy"

Vins let out a scream of rage, then lunged, sword outstretched and time blurring blue around him.

_tick_

"Damn. How many of these things does he have" growled Orchid as they warily eyed the two clockwork Shadowless, a man and a young women. The latter had long, raven black hair, while the former was entirely shaved. The woman wore form fitting black cloth and netting, a ninja like outfit, and she was armed with an oversized shuriken; the ninja star was nearly three feet across. The man wore a sleeveless tan shirt, and pants of the same color. He weilded two sai, the three pronged fighting blades. Her legs were clockwork, highly increasing her agility, a feat she displayed with her flashy enterance. His eyes were clockwork, giving him sightless sight, and his shadow betrayed that his spine was mechanical also. His senses were inhumanly accute.

"Twelve of them. There are three more after these two" said Jenine.

"I am Hachimi" said the kinoichi, then gestured to the man beside her. "And this is Kyu. He doesn't talk much."

Kyu grinned. It was not a comforting sight.

"Get out of our way, or prepare to fight, Shadowless" said Orchid irritatedly.

"There's no point talking this over with them" said Jenine, before blurring out in time. Nobody moved for a second, then there was a clang of metal on metal as Kyu easily blocked her strike with one sai, not even looking her way as she leapt back. There was a pause in the moment after, then the battle began in earnest.

As Jenine fought with her silent opponent, each blurring out and in of time, Orchid and Montblanc, back to back, faced off against the agile Hachimi as she sped around them while slicing time, looking for openings, and striking when she saw them.

"Thundara" cast Montblanc, raising his rod aloft. Lightning cracked down, causing the clockwork to stop just short of being hit, momentarily resuming normal time. Catching sight of her, Orchid turned and let loose a spell of her own.

"Slow"

The familiar clock emblem appeared in front of the clockwork just as she started slicing time again, the hands slowing to a crawl. Hachimi was suddenly moving as if swimming in molasses, but as the air shimmered blue around her, she soon resumed normal speed, but no faster.

"Take this" shouted the ninja irately, bringing one hand up before her face, two fingers raised. "Water Veil"

Water surged up around the girl and the moogle, and shot skyward around them, through them. There was a drowning sensation to it, despite the fact that they didn't feel wet, but felt the surging rush of it nonetheless. When it subsided, Montblanc opened his mouth to respond with a spell, but nothing came out. Orchid tried to use Deluge, but with only as much success as the little mage.

"That should Silence you" smirked Hachimi. "So now we're even. Let's go."

Orchid stared angrily at her in silence, then nodded, almost imperceptibly, before launching herself at the kinoichi.

Meanwhile, Jenine was having her own problems facing the silent Kyu. No matter how fast she moved, no matter how thin she sliced time, no matter what she did, he always seemed to be a step ahead of her and blocked every attack with ease. Leaping into the air, the mechanic let loose a veritable rain of knives, their steely glint shining like so many deadly raindrops. There was a blurring in front of Kyu as his arms moved too fast to see, and the sharp clang of sais hitting knives. Steel flew this way and that, away from the man, as he deftly blocked each and every strike.

"Fine then" growled Jenine, grabbing a knife out the air as it flew near her. "Take this"

As she reached the arc of her leap, she pushed off against the wall behind her, launching her at the clockwork Shadowless, hoping to take him by surprise with a head on assault. She didn't.

Jenine hit the ground hard, clutching at her upper arm where he had stabbed her. He stood over her, grinning eerily as he raised his weapons for the final blow.

"No" shouted Orchid, knocking away Hachimi, as her voice returned. She raised the keyblade skyward. "SHIVA"

For a moment, the air was crystal clear, then all shattered like glass. Giant shards of ice slammed upwards from behind Orchid, forming an enormous icy crystal, perfectly formed. In the center glinted the form of something, something powerful. She raised her head, her eyes opened, and the ice shattered around her like so much delicate glasswork.

She was beautiful. Her skin was tinged a deep blue, and her hair a darker shade. Her eyes were icy sapphires with piercing gaze. A long, silky gown of the faintest blue gossamer enclosed and clung to her perfectly formed body, swishing and moving with an unseen wind. Her arms and neck were adorned with golden trinkets, armlets, rings, necklaces and bracelets. Fine ribbon was twined in her hair.

I am here, young master. How may I serve you?

As before, Orchid was not sure if she actually heard the voice, or if the words, no, the thoughts, were just in her head, directly. Looking around, she could see the awed looks of the others in the room. Apperently, they too could hear the omnipresent voice of Shiva.

"Those two" stated Orchid flatly, pointing the keyblade at Hachimi, then Kyu. "Deal with them."

As you wish.

There was a rush of icy wind as she glided past Orchid, towards the two clockwork Shadowless. Jenine and Montblanc both ran for safety near Orchid as the goddess raised up her arms, directing them at the two Shadowless.

Blizzaga.

Frost and ice exploded outwards from her palms at the two clockworks, who blocked fitfully, but uselessly against the cold. Frost clung to their clothes, shards of ice tearing at them. Their breath came in gasps, the very air freezing in their lungs, feeling like a thousand thousand needles piercing their flesh. When the torrent stopped, they were cold, stiff and afraid. But she was not done with them.

They are strong, to still be alive.

She raised both arms above her head, and between her hands, a faint blue light began to glow, quickly growing in size and intensity.

Diamond Dust.

She leveled her arms at the two clockworks, and unleashed the fury of the arctic. From her palms, a howling blizzard tore loose, freezing any and all in its path. The two hapless Shadowless could do nothing but stare in horror as the ice closed in over them, freezing them solid, stuck in place. Then all was shattered, and they were no more.

It is done, my master.

"Good" said Orchid, breathing deeply, then exhaling slowly. "You can go now."

There was a shimmer of icy wind, and then she was gone.

_tick_

The rain fell with aching slowness there in that blue-blurred, time-slowed world on top of the tower. They fought with blades, with cunning, with time, and without honor. They knew that if either of them fell on the rain-slicked stones of the tower roof, they would not be given a chance to get up. If they fell down, they would stay down. They knew each other too well.

"You can't win against my perfection, Arcanis" shouted Vins as their blades clashed, the rebounded from each other.

"I will" screamed Arc, throwing a punch with his right, shield in hand. "I will free Adonis"

"You will die" snarled his brother.

Lightning struck at barely the speed of falling rain, while thunder was a slow deep rumble, and rain slowly floated on downwards. But not them. They, brothers, moved with unerring quickness, thrust, block, and parry all in swift succession.

"I am light, I am perfection, I am power incarnate" yelled Vins, each word punctuated with a blow that Arc blocked weakly. "You are nothing, you are flawed, you are weak"

Arc jumped back, dodging out of Vins's range, which was considerable, due to the Kikuichimonji's length. Then he charged.

He attacked with hatred, with rage, and with fury. Vins backed away, grudgingly giving ground in the time slowed world, stepping back through near still rain drops as lightning crawled up and down the sky behind him in the blue haze. But Arc was relentless. Any opening was immediatly assailed, forcing his brother to back away as blow after blow rained from shield and sword.

"What are you doing" screamed Vins at him, rain dripping down his face. "You can't defeat me"

"I will" shouted Arc. And then he struck.

The world flickered back into color, and rain that had seemed to stay in the air for ages suddenly finished their descent to the ground in a shattering clamor that was almost deafening after the near silence of slowed time. Vins skidded away on his back across the stone, his katana spinning away from him across the tower as Arc walked slowly over, breathing heavily.

His long white hair hung in a wet, sopping mess about his head as Vins began to rise. He touched his cheek curiously with one hand, and it came away bloody. A great bloody gash now marred the perfect face of the Lord Mousseux.

"Arcanis..." he hissed quietly. The rain pattered down around him, then he threw back his head and screamed his rage to the heavens, shaking the world from tower top to bottem's deep. "ARCANIS"

The very stones beneath his feet shattered as clockwork melded and reformed around their master, and lightning struck. Metal and gears encased Vins, transforming him, mutating him into something much, much more. When it was finished, he turned, and faced Arc, a terrible visage to behold, speaking in a low, deep rumble that creaked with gears, and cogs, and hatred.

"Now die, dear brother."

_ti-_

"Come on, you guys, we have to hurry"

Orchid stopped and turned. She stared at the other two, standing there in midstride.

"You guys" she asked, walking towards them. "Jenine? Monblanc? You okay"

The other two made no response, but just stood there. It was then that Orchid noticed that they, along with everything around her, had taken on a peculiar deep blue haze, that continued to deepen by the moment.

"That color...it's like..." she started, trying to place why it felt so familiar. "It's the color of time"

She gave the older girl an expiramental push, but nothing happened.

"So...Vins must have shut down that thing, the Clockwork Heart...and now time's stopped. But why not me"

She suddenly noticed a whirring noise that hadn't been there before the world had stopped moving. Tracking where it was, she finally looked down to her hand.

"The keyblade..." she said, turning it so she could see better. "Clockwork Grape."

The little timer clocks on each of the grapes were whirring overtime, spinning like mad.

"They must be generating time for me" said Orchid. She started up the stairs, then turned, turned again, then finally turned around and went back to the other two. "Sorry, you guys, I gotta go help Arc and stop Vins"

Then she ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

-

The raindrops no longer moved, and they hurt like stone when Arc slammed through them.

He skidded limply across the stones before a giant, mechanical hand plucked him up like nothing more than a rag doll. Vins had become a monstrosity of unbelievable proportions. The giant, mechanized arms and torso grew out of the very tower itself, composed of the myriad clockwork parts and geared components that made up everything of Adonis. Where the head of the monstrosity should've been, was a shining figure of white; Vins Mousseux.

He raised his arms exultingly into the air as the clockwork body threw Arc about casually as if he were of no consequence.

"Now, brother, do you believe me" shouted Vins. "Do you see my power, my perfection? No one can stop me"

Arc groaned fitfully as one giant hand picked him up by the back of his coat between two fingers built like mechanized barrels and held him in front of his Shadowless brother.

"You could have joined me by my side, brother. Dar'ck is already with us. We would have been brothers three once more." His grin became a look of disgust. "But you had to throw it all away"

The raindrops no longer moved, and they hurt like stone when Arc slammed through them.

-

Orchid passed by with barely a glance to December, Elf, and Zwolf, who stood still as statues in the topmost room of the tower. The twins had looks of surprise on their faces; he had a look of calm knowing. His wings were both awesome and terrible to behold.

She continue past and up the stairs out onto the roof, not sure what to expect. What she got was a large mass of something hurling towards, knocking her off her feet and sending her skidding across the stone with whatever had hit her.

"What the" she started, getting up and looking at what had assailed her. "Arc"

Yellow tinged glasses broken, coat in tatters, and face covered in blood, Arc groaned fitfully, wishing the rain would hurry up and fall, and wash all the pain away. But the rain didn't fall.

Orchid quickly cast Cura before looking about for who she knew had to be there. When she saw him, he was not what she expected.

"Vins" shouted Orchid, half in rage, half in surprise. Gears whirred and clicked as he rose above her, eerily lit from behind by a frozen bolt of lightning.

"Ah, the little Keyblade master" he said smoothly. "Oh, the famous people I kill today."

"You'll kill no one today, or ever again, Vins" yelled Orchid as she charged and leapt at him to attack.

She was flung backwards by a blow from one of the giant mechanical hands, and landed lightly on her feet, water skidding up beneath her, then freezing in the air it lost contact with her. She leapt again, this time predicting the counter swing and bouncing easily off the monstrous limb. Coming to the arc of her leap, she cocked her arm and prepared to unleash the keyblade.

"Shooting Star"

She swung, letting go of the keyblade as it flung in a flurry of light and motion at the monstrosity that was once Vins. He blocked with one arm, and the Clockwork Grape struck deeply. He recoiled slightly as the keyblade bounced back away and to her hand, the wound smoldering from the impact.

"Strike"

She swung again, and once more the keyblade struck his arm, and yet more explosions of light resounded.

"Strike"

There was a screeching noise as metal tore and stretched under the force of the blows, the clockwork arm of the monster breaking under the relentless assualt.

"Strike"  
The keyblade tore threw, severing the arm and cutting deeply into the other before spinning back to Orchid's hand, where she threw it again.

"Strike! Strike"

Two more blows, and the other mechanical barrier was destroyed, and nothing stood between Orchid and Vins. The keyblade now glowed a bright white, having gathered power from all the previous attacks. She held it before her as the glow focused at the tip.

"Wish"

The energy shot out in one concentrated burst, striking the Shadowless square in the chest, in the heart of pure light. There was an explosion, and the force sent Orchid tumbling to the ground, and the frozen raindrops scattering. When it cleared Vins still stood.

"Hah...hah...you see? You can't defeat me" he shouted fitfully. "I...I...am perfect"

"No" she said simply. Then she ran up and leapt the distance up to where Vins resided in the mechanical shell of his monstrous clockwork body and stood there before him. "You are nothing now."

She struck, and there was a brilliant flash of light as the keyblade pierced him.

Where once the man called Vins had been, there was nothing now.

Orchid sighed, and stepped back, then stumbled as the clockwork body began to crumble beneath her. She jumped away, and it stopped in its decay, debris frozen in midair.

"Why.." she started, then remembered. "There's no time"

She ran over to Arc and shook him gently, trying to rouse him from his unconsciousness.

"Arc, Arc" she cried out. "You've got to wake up! You've got to do something! Time's stopped"

He groaned, then flopped over onto his back. He got up slowly, using Sequence as a walking aid to stand. "Where..? What happened" His eyes snapped open and he rounded on her quickly. "Vins? What happened to Vins? Where is"

"He's gone Arc" said Orchid quietly. "Your brother's gone."

Arc stood there quietly, then sighed slowly. "My brother's been gone for more than eight years."

He walked over and curiously inspected a lone raindrop, floating gently in midair. He held his hand out close to it, and when he had nearly touched it, it fell gently onto his skin, rolling off just as easily.

"So he really stopped the Clockwork Heart" he sighed.

"Can you fix it" asked Orchid, her voice tinged with concern. "I mean, you are a, a prince."

He made a noise that could have been a snort, could have been a laugh. "A prince, huh? Well then...let me see..."

He walked out to the center of the tower, ignoring the clockwork wreck that was all that remained of his brother. He closed his eyes, and was quiet for a long time, if time had any meaning in that timeless world. Then he opened them.

"Yes" he said quietly as Orchid walked up. "He only shut it down. He didn't break, as I feared. I can restart it."

He bent down and picked up something small and gleaming off the ground. It was a golden ring, ornamented with a little gear.

"The royal signet. I guess it's mine now" he said, slipping it onto his right hand's index finger. Then he raised the clockwork hand up high, and shouted. "I, Arcanis Mousseux, am now Ruler of Adonis, City of Time, Clockwork Masterpiece."

For a moment, nothing happened. And then suddenly, the world had color again, and the rain was falling.

_-ck_

Ricksen smiled and danced for joy. They Heartless were gone, the gearfreaks they had been fighting had disappeared in a moment. It was in that moment that he had felt an eternity, but he shrugged it off and yelled happily with the other fugitives. They knew it was over. The long wait was over.

_tick_

Jenine and Montblanc hurried up the tower steps and into the rain on the rooftops, unsure of what to expect. Whatever the likely possiblities had been, they had not included a man and a young girl dancing like fools without a care in the world, cavorting about in the rain, laughing like maniacs.

"Ar...Arcanis" asked Jenine hesitantly.

He turned, then smiled brightly, and ran over, picking her up in a giant bearhug.

"It's over, Jenine! It's finally over! He's gone" he shouted ecstatically, turning and swinging her about wildly.

"Did you hear that, Montblanc" asked Orchid excitedly, running over to the little moogle. "We did it! We beat Vins! We freed Adonis"

"Kupo, that's great" he squeaked happily, turning a backflip in the air.

"Put me down, you big oaf" shouted Jenine, blushing furiously as she was swung about by Arc.

"Heheh, sorry, sorry" smiled Arc, setting her down gently. He smiled and turned about happily in the rain. "Gods, I feel as if a weight's been lifted off me."

The clouds began to clear, and light lined the horizon.

"The sun's coming up" said Orchid, smiling at Arc.

"And today is a new day" he agreed.


	36. Farewell, Adonis

Conclusions: Well, here's finally the end of Adonis. People will be saying their goodbyes, and some characters we may not see again for a while.Short Chapter. Ah, well.

As for reviewers, I got some weirdo named Solan who didn't like my story just because I happened to take the keyblade from Sora. This guy has the typing and speaking skills of an Discworld troll. What puzzles me is that, even though he says the story is such a disappointment (spelled "dissapoint ment" by him), he went ahead and read 32 chapters of it anyways. Strange.

Anyways, as for other comments I feel a need to address, to the dog demon's apprentice, I say that, although it really shouldn't be any of my concern, being a straight guy, but I will say that what I had in mind for December was more or less bishi material, so yes, he _is_ hot. And his wings are frickin' awesome. As for DS, yes, Sora will be back in the story as a working fighting character. But only towards the end. He pops up with full powers around Hollow Bastion. And boy, does he get an awesome butt-kicking fight to start off with! As for use of Adonis, feel free to use it. Only mind, if you are using my version of Adonis, probably note that after this, there is no Vins, the Clockwork Tower is more or less unused and abandoned, and people are going about getting on with trying to organize normal lives. Sort of like the epilogue for the Jing version. You don't need my permision or advice for anything if you plan on using your own version, or the Jing version of Adonis.

Anyways, RR people! Merry Christmas to all!

* * *

_tick_

The celebrations were city wide, and lasted well into the night. Free of Vins's rule, the people of Adonis could finally relax and revel. Lights were lit, and clocks were smashed; the symbols of the tyrant rule were scoured from the city. Everyone celebrated the fugitives as heros, and two others were held even higher, the new Lord Mousseux and the Keyblade Master.

Eventually, the time came for goodbyes.

"Well, I guess this is it" said Orchid sadly as she stood outside the city gates with Montblanc. She sighed, then looked around. "Where's Arc"

"Well, he _is_ the ruler of Adonis now" explained Ricksen with a shrug. "I'm sorry, but I guess he'll be staying here. Got to sort things out after this whole mess."

"Yeah, I guess" sighed Orchid, her face crestfallen.

"Kupo, so Jenine's helping him right now also" guessed Montblanc.

The big man nodded. "Lot of stuff to get organized."

"So it's really goodbye to Arc" asked Orchid, though her tone was not hopeful.

Montblanc and Ricksen only nodded.

_tick_

"So you think you're staying, huh"

"What do you mean"

"Just what I said."

"Of course I'm staying. I have to. It's my responsibility."

"You and your responsibility. It'll get you killed, someday. Almost did, twice."

A sigh. "Maybe. But I can't do otherwise."

"You have another responsibility."

"That's to one person. This is to way more than just one person."

"If that's what you think, you're lying to yourself. If you really think about it, it's a responsibility to everyone. Not just here in Adonis. Everyone, everywhere."

Another sigh. "You...you're right."

"Of course I am. I'm always right."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you are."

There was a long pause.

"Are you sure? I mean... I'm gonna have to leave again. And I might not come back this time."

"You'll come back."

"How do you know"

"Because you're going to promise it to me right now."

He smiled. "Fine."

"Say it."

"I promise to come back, okay"

"Tch...good enough, I guess."

"Look, why does it matter to you that much anyways"

"You really are dense, you know that"

"What"

"Come here."

"Why"

"Just come here."

"Fine."  
There was a long pause, and he smiled, a little shocked, a little surprised, when it was over.  
"Oh."

"Is that all you have to say? Figures. You're impossible, you know that? Now get going, or you'll miss your ride."

"I...I will come back."

"I already said that. And I'm always right."

_tick_

"Well, goodbye, Ricksen" said Orchid. They shook hands, his gaint paw engulfing her hand almost entirely.

"Farewell, kupo" said Montblanc as they turned to go. "Say goodbye to all the rest of them for us."

"I will" said the big man, nodding solemnly.

"Hey"

The two turned back at the voice.

"Hey" Melina shouted again as she ran up. She stopped, panting and out of breath as she reached the three of them. When she caught her breath, she started again. "You two bring back Dar'ck-sempai next time, okay"

"Melina..." chided Ricksen.

"No, it's okay" Orchid said to him. Then she turned to the girl. "I can't promise anything, but we'll try okay"  
Melina nodded, not saying anything as tears welled up in her eyes. Then she said"And you two come back safely also, okay"

Orchid smiled, then hugged her gently. "We will. And you take good care of everyone around here too."

Melina nodded again, then sniffled as she let go and backed away. "See you around."

"See ya" replied Orchid as she turned and headed off with Montblanc.

They left, and the city gates closed behind them.

She turned, and looked on last time at the city, the ruined tower still climbing high above all the other buildings.

"Well...goodbye, Adonis. And goodbye, Arcanis."

_tick_

He walked down the corridors, hurrying along. He paused as there was a faint whisper of wind and movement beside him. And another sound. The whirring click of clockwork and gears. As he turned around, he just caught sight of the shadows of three figures walking off.

"But it can't be" he muttered, shaking his head. "We got all twelve of them, right"

He mentally went back over the stories he had been told the previous night. That's when he caught it.

"We didn't..." Then he paused. "But they had shadows..."

He shook his head again, trying to clear it, then gave up and hurried on.

_tick_

Orchid sighed as she stared out the window of the gummi ship.

"Ready to go" asked Montblanc as he finished all the pre-flight preperations.

"Not quite yet" she said. "Wait a little."

"What are we waiting for" asked the moogle.  
She paused. Then sighed again. "I don't know. I was hoping for something, that, like, I dunno, like some kind of story, he'd come running up at the last minute, shouting and waving, saying that he really was coming with us." She turned from the window and looked at him, her face downcast and sad. "But I guess not."

Montblanc only sook his head sadly.

"Well...let's go."

The moogle engaged the engine, and the ship lifted off the ground. Soon, Adonis was no more than a clock-faced world on the viewscreen. In silence, they checked the map and entered in the coordinates for the next world. Orchid turned the ship around sharply, the whole thing tilting dangerously to one side as she did. Montblanc nearly fell out of his seat, and several of the things stored in other parts of the ship shifted and crashed about loudly. One of the doors even opened as something large slid out and across, slamming heavily against the other side of the hall.

"Your driving really sucks."

"Would you just shut" started Orchid, as she spun about in her chair. She stopped, open mouthed as she stared. Montblanc had the same look of disbelief on his face.

"Guy can hardly take a nap in here without getting tossed about like an earthquake" complained Arc grumpily as he stumbled down the hallway towards them. He stopped as he got to the cockpit. They were still staring at him. He stared at Orchid, the light glinting off his yellow tinted glasses flatly. "Go on, get out of the way. I'm not letting you drive."

There was a pause, then all hell broke loose.

"You jerk"

Arc smiled and stepped back as she came at him, swinging her fist, then caught her wrist on the backswing. He held easily with his right hand, the mechanisms sliding smoothly as he swung her arm about a little, grinning widely. "You didn't really think I would let you go off and have all the fun, did you"

"Damn it, Arc" shouted Orchid, kicking him in the shins. He gave a yelp of pain and danced about holding his leg, letting go of her arm. "I really thought you were gone"

Montblanc chuckled, then ducked as a can went flying through the space his head had previously occupied.

"Don't you dare laugh" Orchid yelled at the little moogle. She pouted, then frowned, and burst out at him again. She demanded"You knew, didn't you"

"I had a hunch, kupo" said Montblanc, stifling a laugh.

"Oh, come on" growled Arc teasingly as he grabbed her from behind in a headlock. "Admit it. You're just glad I'm here."

"You piss the heck out of me, you know that" she said as struggled in his grasp. "Why I would miss you, I'll never know."

He let her go, and she turned and stared at him balefully. And then she smiled.

"But you're right. I am glad you're here."

"Of course you are. Now let's get going." He sat down in the pilot's chair and started fiddling with the various mechanisms as he got them ready to go. "You people would be lost without me."  
Orchid chuckled, then sat back in her seat and relaxed, glad they were all still together, as Montblanc flipped through the old Journal that Sora had given them. Arc stared back down at Adonis.

"So, you say your goodbyes" asked Orchid.

"Didn't have to" replied Arc. "I'll be back."

He brought up his left hand, his fingers absently brushing his lips.

Of course he'd come back. She wouldn't give him another kiss if he didn't.


	37. Heart, Wind and Halloween

Yay: Windgates are awesome. Too bad you don't see the actual gates in action for quite a while. Anyways, updates in Hollow Bastion, plus on with the next world. I had fun with Orchid's costume. Anyone recognize the mask? coughcoughJingcoughcough Anyways, sorry to keep gusy so long, but then, I guess I won't be updating at my breakneck pace anymore. I got FFTA and FF1 to work on, plus school, so... shrug Anyways, read and review!

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---

"So, you've returned with the princess?"

"Yes," said Eriks. "The Heartless are bringing her up right now."

"Very good," murmured Elias. "No problems then?"  
"Nothing I couldn't handle."

Elias's mouth turned slightly at the corner, in what could possibly be a smile. His apprentice was coming along very well. Already they had five of the Princesses of Heart. Soon they would have all that was needed to open the door.

"You may go now, Eriks," he said calmly. Then he paused and turned, speaking just as the boy was about to leave. "Oh, and Stromwind said he wanted to see you. About the Windgates and Heartless."

"The old bear wants to talk with me? That's a first."

He turned back to contemplating the rain outside the stained glass window as the door closed behind him, clicking loudly in the cold, still air of the Hollow Bastion. They still needed more power, though. The Keyblade Master, the Flower of Arcadia, was becoming a real threat to their efforts. She had already sealed some of the key worlds. It was then that he decided.

He walked swiftly down the long and empty halls, until he reached the laboratory. There, several assistants worked. These were Heartless, bound to Elias's will by clockwork that Vins had created. They stood tall and thin, garbed in simple white robes, though their long mechanical arms were bare, pulsing darkly with the essence of the Heartless. They were precise, efficient, and mindless. Perfect for monitering the subjects and performing the regular scans and tasks.

"Any progress?" he asked quietly, walking up to the head assistant, differentiated from the others merely by a black cross on the back of its robe and a strange mechanism built under its glowing yellow eyes, where its mouth would be if it had one. "Has there been any change in the subjects?"

The Heartless tilted its head, as if considering, then straightened again. A thin, mechanical voice uttered from the machine on its face.

"The Master's will continues to weigh down on them," it rasped. "The Lionhearted is still strong, but he will break. The boy is already beginning to crumble." It paused. "We fear the conflicting inputs may tear the subject for the Grey One apart. Our calculations and reports show it unlikely that he shall be satisfactory to our cause."

"Do not worry," assured Elias, half-shown face placid. "He is stronger than you think."

-

"So, what do you want, old bear?"

"Well, runt," growled Stromwind, not even opening his eyes as Eriks walked in and sat down across from him. "I though it was time to educate you in magic."

Stromwind was a big man, and his wild, dirty blonde hair spiked nearly straight back. His rough, blockish face had a sparse beard. He wore a tunic and leather pants, and also a bearskin cloak, complete with clawed arms which hung over his shoulders and down his chest. He almost always carried a gnarled, wooden stick, part staff, part mace; it lay next to him now.

They sat in a room that Stromwind had taken over when they had arrived in Hollow Bastion. It was circular in nature, and was now furnished with only a low table and a mat for sleeping on. Most of the floor was taken up by a large complex design inscribed on the floor, a magic circle that the druid now meditated on the edge of. Eriks sat opposite of him, outside of the circle. Multitudes of candles burned in the room, illuminating their faces with flickering light, casting about wild and dancing shadows. Stromwind cast no such shadows.

"Why?" asked Eriks impudently, shifting a little as he got comfortable and lay _Excalibur_ down in front of him.

"Because," started the big man, opening his eyes and crossing his arms. "_That_ will not save you against all foes."

He nodded his head in the sword's direction.

"Like the Keyblade Master?" asked Eriks. By careful circumlocution and vague descriptions, Elias and the Shadowless had prevented Eriks from realizing that the Flower of Arcadia and the Keyblade Master were one and the same, an effort that had almost been overthrown by the overactive mouth of Gali several times in the past. As it stood, Eriks only knew that the Keyblade Master was powerful, and was set to stop them.

"Yes. Like the Keyblade Master," answered Stromwind in his slow, rumbling voice.

"Makes sense," admitted Eriks, running a hand through his spiky black hair. "So what are you gonna teach me?"

"I intend to instruct you in direction of the Heartless and harnessing the power of the Windgates."

A Heartless shadow came in then, creeping flatly under the door, then springing up, its antenna waving erratically as it snuffled, looking this way and that.

"So I'll be able to control the Heartless?" asked Eriks, eyeing the Shadow as it stared curiously at him.

"To an extent," agreed Stromwind. "Controlling them, such as you are thinking, would take an inordinate amount of will, and would not be worth the effort. You will mainly be able to call and banish them, and send them to scout out areas or attack. Basic and general sorts of things."

He turned to the Heartless.

"First, empty your mind. Then reach back, far back into the deepest, most base place in your a feeling of emptiness, of dark, wanting hunger. Then reach out, and feel for similar response."

Eriks eyes were closed now, his brows knit in concentration.

"I feel a pulse, almost," he said. "From the shadow, I think."

"Yes, that's it," said the druid. "Now, pull it in towards you, gently but steadily, until its hunger and want joins with your own."

"I...I can feel it. Like it's a part of me."

"Good. That's basically all there is to it. The rest is just focusing your will on pulling them towards you, or scattering them. Scouting is just focusing that hunger in a direction, and attacking focusing it on a target. They'll follow your direction. As you get used to it, you'll be able to call them faster and with less effort. But becareful not to call too strongly or mesh too deeply with them."

"I see," said Eriks, letting out a breath as the shadow scurried under the door and out of the room.

"Now, I shall teach you about the Windgates," he said. "There are seven Windgates, each incorperating a basic power." He gestured around the magic circle at seven seperate spheres in the outer ring, each with their own intricate design. "They are Kjellnor, the Burning Wind," he started, pointing to a circle that had a design that alluded to swirling flames, "Korshana, the Freezing Wind," motioning to a symbol of glittering cold wind, "Elementii, the Purging Wind," as he indicated the next sphere, this one with jagged, electric lines, "Barshinae, the Exploding Wind," pointing to a design of erratic bursts and swirls, "Charostor, the Darkness Wind," moving to the next circle, filled with twisting black lines, "and Alavastier, the Light Wind," finally indicating a sphere filled with bright, twisting designs. He sighed and leaned back, crossing his arms again. "I shall teach you how to harness their power, and cast spells. Memorization of these magic circles is key to it."

"So I'll be able to open the Windgates and unleash their power?" asked Eriks eagerly.

"No. Only a master, who has trained many years, may open the Windgates. I shall merely teach you how to tap into the forces behind them."

"Okay, then let's start." He paused. Something wasn't right. Then it hit him. "You only named six Windgates. What's the seventh one? This one."

Eriks pointed across the design to the sphere that sat in the outer ring directly in front of Stromwind. This one had many designs and runes in the border, but the center was completely empty.

"That," rumbled Stromwind. "is the gate that we _never_ open."

A chill swept down Eriks's spine at the seriousness of his tone and the weight of his stare.

"Now, let us begin your education in magic, runt," growled Stromwind.

-

"I will be leaving soon," Elias informed to the head assistant. "You are not to disturb me, unless there are any breakthroughs with the subjects. Then you should contact me immediately."

"Yes, master," grated the cold, metallic voice as the Heartless nodded. It did not ask where he was going, as a person would. It was not a person, after all.

---

"What the heck is that?" shouted Orchid, pointing out the gummi ship's veiw screen. The planet hovering before them was a grinning mess of black and orange, covered in jagged spires and half-crazed shapes.

"That, kupo," said Montblanc, "is Halloweentown. Remember Sora's story?"

"It sounded a lot more fun when he told about it," she said warily, eyeing the bizzare world. "Looks kinda freaky."

"Yeah," agreed Arc. "It doesn't scare me, but there's no way we'll be able to blend in there. And if the Heartless or a Shadowless are already there, attracting attention is the last thing we want to do."  
"Well, kupo" started the moogle mage, "it so happens that Donald, Sora's friend, wrote down the disguise spell in the ship's logs. We didn't need the water breathing one, but we sure can use this one, kupo!"

"Ooh, ooh, make me a devil, I always wanted to be one!" said Orchid enthusiastically.

"Kupopo...sorry, but it's completely random. All I know is that it will make us fit in."

"Awww..."

-

"Hahaha, you look ridiculous!"

"Shut up!"

Arc huffed indignantly while Orchid continued to point and laugh. His tinted shades now had a cracked left lense, though this was moot because that eye was covered with a black eye patch. His head was wrapped in a dark red bandana, though the stray lock of hair continued to stay forwards and near his face despite it. His white trenchcoat, once knee-length, was now shredded to less than waist length, and the sleeves shortened raggedly also. It was also looking in need of a wash. He also now sported a scar on his right cheek, and a black bandana wrapped around his right arm where the flesh ended and the mechanics began. His black shirt was belted into his pants, now baggy pantaloons, by a dark crimson sash. The legs of his baggy pants were tucked into the tops of tough, thick leather boots. The only things unchanged where his shield, in his left hand, and his sword Sequence, slung over his shoulder on his back. Slouching about with a harrased look on his face, he looked like a pirate that had seen better days.

"Oh, come on, I think he looks fine, kupo," assured Montblanc. The little moogle now sported fangs, an even whiter complexion, and dark outfit, complete with black cape. A miniature vampire that might have been menacing, had he not been a moogle. "Besides, he only looks as funny as you or me."

Orhcid herself had the most unique costume. Something of a zombie-cat-girl thing with a mask no one knew what to think of. Her sky-blue sweatshirt sleeves had turned black, and the hooded sweatshirt itself had disappeared, while her white tank top had become a black tube top, lined in yellow. Her shorts had become long black pants, though one of them had been torn off just below the knee, and the other sported a hole on one side right near it. Her white and blue sneakers where now yellow and black, though mostly the same. Additionally, she had gained several stitched up scars; there was one exposed by the hole in her pant leg, another on the other leg on her calf, one across the left side of her belly, one going around each arm in different spots, one over her right shoulder, and finally, one around her neck. Her blond hair was almost now almost white, though she sported a pair of black cat ears poking out of it near the top of her head. She also had a black cat tail, which she swished experimentally, poking out of a convenient hole in the back of her pants, and some lines across her cheeks which looked vaguely like whiskers. Last of all, was the mask hanging on her head at a jaunty angle, covering her right eye. It was black and round, except for two pointy ears near the top, had spiral eyes and a grinning face. It looked rather comical, though seemed to fit with her outfit, haphazardly stuck on.

"Yeah, look in a mirror, cat-freak!" smirked Arc.

"Actually, I look pretty cute," observed Orchid, studying her reflection on the glass of the veiw screen. "Unlike pirate-oaf there."

"Can we get going, kupo?" aske Montblanc, heading off any remarks of Arc which could lead to a full scale argument.

"Okay," smiled Orchid, turning and swishing the keyblade through the air. "Halloweentown, here we come!"


	38. Daemon

Backies: Well, here's the next chapter, finally. We also have a new reader, Indigo Bloodshed! She complains of a lack of romance in my story, which I admit is true. However, I have my reasons. All the main pairing are broken up. Sora and Kairi are at opposite ends of the universe, as are Orchid and Eriks. Jenine stays in Adonis, so she can't be with Arc. Cloud is still looking for Aeris. And if I had any intention of Squffie, that wouldn't work either since Yuffie and Leon are at opposite ends of the world. As for Eriks, he has not totally forgotten about Orchid. His end goal is, after all, to get her and Arcadia back. He's under the impression that by aiding the Master, he'll do this. However, yes, she's becoming less and less the forefront of his mind. He's sort of falling into the routine.

Lastly: Clockworks. Here it is, the naming stuff. Monoa is from Mono, indicating one in English. Duo from two, as in the deadly duo. And Tresian from tres, Spanish for three. Shisan from shi, Japanese for four, and for death, hence the scythe. Fivare is from five. Kuroku is from Kuro and Roku, japanese for black and six respectively. Also, Kuroku could be interpretted as the katakana mangling of clock in Japanese. Sieten is from Siete, Spanish for seven. Hachimi is from Hachi, Japanese for eight. Kyu is from Japanese also, from which nine is Ku or Kyu. December is ten, from Dece, which is Latin. Notably, before Augustus and Julius Caesar created the months July and August, September, October, November, and December were the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th months of the calendar. Septe, Oct, Nove, and Dece. Lastly, Elf and Zwolf are German for 11 and 12.

Anyways, R&R peoples!

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-

Through dark gates and darker shadows they passed, these travellers three, into the town of Halloween.

"Jeez, this place sure is creepy," cringed Orchid, looking around at the crooked black buildings and flickering yellow lights. "And yet..."

Arc looked about also as they walked down the streets, hardly meeting anyone, and going more or less unnoticed by who they did. "Yeah, I know what you mean. It doesn't feel right. Not spooky or haunted. More like..."

They turned a bend and were confronted by creatures and people the likes of which they had never seen before, all singing and whooping and laughing, maniacally, hauntingly, happily.

"...a carnival, kupo" finished Montblanc.

"Great Halloween, everyone! I believe it was our most horrible yet!"

They looked around until they spotted the speaker.

He was unbelievably tall and impossibly thin. To say he was skeletal would be both descriptive and accurate in every way. In a pitch-black suit with a bat-wing tie, he was frighteningly attired, yet somehow warm and friendly. The trio stared, not sure how to react as freakish and strange beings celebrated and congradulated one another. Most of them were trying to get a word in with the bone-white skeleton man that had talked first when the three had walked up.

"Thank you," he was saying uneasily, as he backed away from the pressing crowd. "Thank you all....very much!"

Orchid and the other two ducked around the corner as the skeleton continued to back towards them.

"Now hold on a second, everybody!" shouted a voice, distorted and tinny sounding, "We haven't given out the awards yet!"

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, the skeleton man took leave of his eager fans and ducked into the alley behind him and around the corner.

Only to run smack into Orchid, Arc, and Montblanc, who had just decided then might be a good time to get a move on things.

"Woah!" said Arc, backing away.

"Oh my god!" shouted Orchid in surprise as she fell backwards, being the person the skeleton had run into.

"Who are you?" asked the man, looking about in bewilderment at them. "Are you new in Halloweentown?"

"I, uh, guess you can say that," said Orchid, remembering that with their costumes, they'd look like they belonged here. "I'm Orchid, this is Arc, and the little one's Montblanc."

"Kupopo...and who are you?" asked the moogle.

"I am Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Haloween!" the skeleton man said proudly with a flourish of one bony hand. "As such, I whole heartedly welcome you to Halloweentown. We've been getting a lot of new people coming by lately."

"Really?" asked Arc suspiciously. "Like who?"

"Well, there's you three, Daemon, and the Heartless are back too!"

"Whaaat?" asked Orchid. "Are they attacking everyone?"

"Attacking?" said Jack in surprise. "No, no, no, you've got it all wrong! Maybe they were a little weird a few years ago, and I couldn't even get them to dance with us, but this year, they've helped us to have the most horrible Halloween yet!"

From the way he grinned, the trio quickly gathered that this strange man took "horrible" to be a good thing.

"Kupo!" squeaked Montblanc. "Do you remember Sora? He told us about here and how he met you, kupo!"

"Hmm? You mean _you_ know Sora? It's been quite a while since he was here. He and his friends shook up quite a scare here!" grinned Jack. "How do you know him?"

"You know how he had the Keyblade?" asked Orchid. Jack nodded. "I'm the Keyblade master now."

"Well, that's new!" exclaimed Jack. "And what's Sora up to then?"

"Um, not much, really," sighed Orchid. "There was something about how he'd get all his powers back when the time was right, but that hasn't happened yet."

"Oh, well," said Jack. "So what are you doing here?"

"Well, we're going to all the worlds we can, kupo, since the Heartless are attacking," said Montblanc.

"But now there are also the Shadowless," said Arc sourly.

"Yeah...this is getting more and more complicated," sighed Orchid.

"Well, you don't have to worry about us, then!" grinned Skellington. "The Heartless have been a tremendous help to this year's Halloween!"

"That's what makes me suspicious..." murmured Arc.

-

"Quickly, my minions. The longer you take to find this world's heart, the longer you have to play nice with these foolish beings... the longer before you can feast."

-

"The door is open!"

"Dr. Finklestein?"

"Jack Skellington! And who is that with you?"

"These," started Jack as they entered the laboratory tower, "are friends of Sora. The cat, Orchid, the pirate, Arc, and the vampire, Montblanc."

"Oh, the keyblade boy!" came the raspy voice from above as they headed up the ramp. "These are his friend's, eh?"

The speaker turned out to be a small old man with little black spectacle and a large head sitting in wheelchair. He wore a white lab coat and black gloves and boots; his skin was deathly pale. Orchid thought his head looked like the top was metal with bolts, painted white.

"Come in, come in!" he said, turning his motorized wheelchair and going into a door. They followed him into a laboratory, filled with all sorts of strange and curious devices. "I was just doing a study of the Heartless."

On one of the tables, strapped down, was a strange, ghost-like creature, with monocle, gloves, and coat. It was, however, unmistakably a Heartless.

"Kupopo...why are you doing that?" asked Montblanc.

"Well, comparing the data with the last time they were here, I find that they have been acting very peculiarly," said the doctor. "Despite being inept, ignorant, and rather slow, they seem to be willing to help us in whatever this year. I find it very strange."

"Strange?" asked Jack. "Why, they just want to help will all the celebrations and scare just like the rest of us!"

"But Jack..." said Orchid uneasily, taken back by his enthusiastic naivity, "that's not like the Heartless at all."

"Yes," agreed Dr. Finklestein. "I can't figure out what's making them act this way. It doesn't appear that anyone has made a heart to control them with..."

"Huh? Whaddaya mean?" interrupted Arc.

"Remember Sora's story?" asked Montblanc. "The people here tried to make a heart to control the Heartless with so they could get them to help."

"Yes," confirmed the doctor. "And it failed miserably."

"Well, do you have any idea what might be making them act this way?" questioned Orchid.

"Hmm...I have a suspicion, but..." He shook his head. "No, it couldn't be."

"Be what?" she asked.

"Well," started the doctor, "Daemon appeared only a little while before the Heartless did."

"You aren't suggesting that Daemon is behind them, are you, Doctor?" asked Jack increduously.

"Well...not as such. He does seem to try to avoid them as much as possible," admitted Dr. Finklestein. "In fact, he barely even acknowledges their existance."

"Oh," said Orchid. "I guess that'd hardly make him have to do anything with them."

"Anyways," continued the doctor, "seeing that you're here, and Sora is not, I assume that means one of you carries the keyblade now?"

"Uh, yeah," she said. "I do."

"Ah. And may I see it?"

"Sure." Orchid held out her hand, and the keyblade materialized. It was still set as the Clockwork Grape, since that gave her more powers than Nearbloom, and none of the other forms were accessible. She laid it out on a desk near the doctor.

"Ah, I see that it's changed since I last saw it," he muttered. "Yes, very interesting."

"Merlin said it was because it is the Keyblade of World, Life now, instead of the the Keyblade of World, Heart, kupo," explained Montblanc.

"May I see any other Keychains you have?" asked Dr. Finklestein. "I believe that's what gave the Keyblade its different forms."

"Oh, here," said Orchid, searching her pockets. She soon came up with the Poison Ivy keychain, the only other one she had.

"Hmm...I see," murmered the doctor as he inspected the little metal cage. As before, it was still filled with a darkness that the dim laboratory lights could not pierce. "This one suits my work much more than the other one."

"What do you mean by that, kupo?" asked Montblanc.

"With this one, I think I can devise some modifications that should significantly enhance it," he stated.

"Really?" asked Orchid excitedly.

"Yes," he answered. "Its construction should be exceedingly simple."

Orchid started to celebrate.

"Once I have the necassary parts," he added, before she got too happy.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Arc suspiciously.

"Well, I shall need the bloom of the Deadly Nightshade," explained the doctor. "Luckily, since it's just before the full moon, it should be blooming now."

"And where can we find that?" asked Orchid.

"You'll need to talk with Sally about it," he said. "She should be in her cell, but most likely she isn't. You'll have to find her."

"I'll help you out there," smiled Jack. "Leave it to us, Doctor!"

-

"Well, Skellington, how are you doing this most terrible of evenings?"

Jack and the following trio turned to the one hailing them. He was tall and thin, though no nearly as much as the Pumpkin King. He wore a black suit with four coattails, giving it an odd, archaic look, and tight black slacks. His heeled black shoes clicked as he walked up towards them, his long, silky black hair trailing behind him. His face was covered by a strange mask. The left half was a red mask potraying a fearsome demon, with horns and blazing eyes, while the right half was a simplistic white mask, only marked by an upwards curve for the eye, and half a downwards curve impressionistically suggesting a smiling half a mouth.

"Ah, Daemon, how good to see you!" said Jack enthusiastically. "I'm doing just great! These are my new friends, Orchid, Arc and Montblanc."

Daemon pivoted on one heel and faced the trio, staring straight at Orchid. Even though he was masked, Orchid could feel the man's piercing gaze and a chill ran up her spine.

"Ah. So nice to finally meet you," he said emotionlessly. He turned back to Jack. "Nice talking to you, Skellington, but I must be off now."

"Of course, of course!" smiled Jack as he left. He turned back to Orchid. "Come on, this way now!"

"That guy gave me the creeps," Orchid murmured quietly to Arc as they followed Jack.

"Well, everything's creepy here," shrugged Arc.

"No, I mean, _really_ gave me the creeps. These guys are scary, but in a sort of child-like way. But that guy was deep-down all-the-way-to-the-bone scary."

"Here we are!" said Jack loudly, cutting off any further conversation. "We'll just get Zero to help us find Sally."

"Who?" the trio asked. They were standing in a twisted, hilly graveyard, none of them with high hopes about who they might encounter in such a gloomy place.

"Here, Zero! Come on, boy," called Jack, clapping his hands. There was a stirring from one of the graves, and suddenly a translucent, sheet-white ghost popped out. It looked like a dog head with a fluttering curtain for a body and a tiny jack-o-lantern for a nose. "There you are, Zero!"

The ghost dog barked happily and fluttered around them like any enthusiastic puppy would.

"Okay, Zero, I need you to help us find Sally, okay?" said Jack. Zero nodded and barked in response. "Okay, boy! Lead us to her!"

The dog looked about and snuffled curiously at the wind, the his nose lit up happily and he took off. Jack ran easily after him, seeming to have no problems with the gloom and shadows and keeping pace without difficulty thanks to his inhumanly long legs. Orchid and Montblanc, and even Arc, however, were hardpressed to keep the ghostly dog and skeleton owner in sight as they ran through the gates and into the town. They were panting and out of breath when they finally caught up with Jack, who was talking with a woman that appeared to be something of a ragdoll. Her clothes were stitched from different materials, which wasn't too strange, but her body seemed to be sown together that way too.

"Ah, and here they are!" said Jack cheerfully. "Orchid, Arc, Montblanc, I'd like you to meet Sally."

"Oh," said the woman. "Well, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, kupo," said Montblanc.

"Hey," grinned Orchid. Arc nodded.

"Sally, what we need now is the bloom of the Deadly Nightshade," said Jack. "Do you think you could get that for us?"

"Oh...of course, Jack," Sally said, turning away from him a little. Orchid swore she could almost see her blushing. Jack seemed oblivious to this. "I'll bring it to you as soon as I can."

"Wonderful! Now, where can we meet you?"

"I, I'll be by the graveyard gates in half an hour," she said. "Is that alright?"

"That would be just fine. I knew we could count on you!" grinned Jack. He turned and started off again. "Okay, Orchid, Arc, Montblanc, I'll show you around the town now!"

As the other three left, Orchid turned and looked at Sally. When she caught her eye, she winked and pointed back at Jack, then gave her the thumbs up. Sally blushed a little and turned away before heading off to do her task. Orchid smiled. The people here just looked different. Otherwise, they were no different than any others she'd met.

-

"Now, where's Witch Hazel and Deadly Nightshade?" Sally mumbled to herself as she looked through the graveyard. She weaved her way through the maze of masoleums and headstones, until she came to two low wooden gravemarkers. On the graves grew thick, black stems with glossy leaves. On them sprouted beautifully delicate deep purple blooms, almost black in hue. Their large soft petals shown ever so slightly in the bright moonlight. She sighed as she picked a few of them. "I wonder what he could be needing these for."

She turned suddenly as she heard a voice speaking.

Not seeing anyone close by, she walked slowly in her ungainly gait towards the source and hid behind a gravestone, peeping out through a hole at the speaker.

"Time is of the essence now, my minions," said Daemon. His audience was made of shifting shadows with bright yellow eyes, hungering gargoyles with jagged teeth, and floating search ghosts, Heartless, every one of them. "The Keyblade Master has come. We have to find the enterance to the world's heart before she seals it off, or we shall never devour it."

The mass of monsters stirred with disquiet and uneasyness.

"Yes. That is why we have to act quickly. You wish to sate your hunger, but she would deny you. So act quickly. Our cooperation with the natives has bought us time, but nothing indefinate."

"I have to tell Jack!" said Sally quietly as she slumped down behind the gravestone. "I can't let this happen."

"What was that?" came Daemon's cold, emotionless voice. Sally froze, fear paralyzing every part of her ragdoll body. "You, go find out."

Sally looked about quickly for some sort of escape, but couldn't find one. She was just about to make a run for it when a dark shadow loomed from above, and before she knew it, she was being pulled out into plain veiw by a Heartless gargoyle, the Nightshade blooms scattering on the ground.

"Let go of me!" she cried. The Heartless obeyed, and dropped her roughly just in front of Daemon.

"Ah, the little ragdoll," he said coldly. "Thinking of running to Skellington and telling him of my agenda?"

Sally just sat there, afraid and unsure of what to do.

"Well, we couldn't have that, now could we?" said Daemon. "So only one thing is going to happen now."

She cringed and shrunk back as he walked up to her, looming over her.

"You're not going to run. You're not going to tell Skellington. You're not going to alert the Flower of Arcadia to our plans. Instead, you're going to disappear."

There was a fluttering of wings, and then all went black.


	39. Baited and Set, the Trap's been Sprung

Gepth: Welp, here's another chapter. Should be studying, but I'm drawing and writing instead. And playing Final Fantasy. Man, nothing quite as awesome as double blackmage fury! Anyways, here's more of Halloween. And Aliasfan, I'm surprised you didn't recognize who Daemon really is. Oh, well, anyone who doesn't will be revealed to next chapter.

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-

"That's strange," said Jack. "She isn't here."

He looked about, but still did not see Sally. He turned to the others.

"She said to meet here in half an hour, right, guys?" he asked. Orchid nodded.

"That's what I heard," she said. They had been standing there for nearly ten minutes already.

"How very unlike her," he muttered.

"Maybe she's still in the graveyard, kupo?" suggested Montblanc, flittering about with his little wings.

"Well, let's go check," said Jack.

They searched high and low throughout the twisted hills and knolls of the graveyard, with no sign of Sally, until by accident, Orchid stumbled over a gravestone and went tumbling down the slope.

"Owch!" she cried out as she came to a rest, hitting her shoulder against a wooden grave marker. "Jeez..."

She went quiet when she saw the name of the grave.

"Deadly Nightshade..." she said softly, staring at the black plants growing over the barrow. Looking a little ways away, she could see a scatter of blooms lying strewn about on the ground. She called for the others as she walked over.

"Yeah, you find something?" asked Arc grouchily as he trudged up, pants mucky from falling in a hidden mire.

"I think so," said Orchid. She held up the discarded flowers for the others to see.

"Those are the Deadly Nightshade blooms!" said Jack. "I guess Sally came here to get them."

"I wonder where she went then, and why she left them here," murmured Orchid as she pocketed the flowers.

"Zero, could you check things out?" Jack asked his ghostly companion. The dog barked, turned around once, then sniffed around the area. He trailed away to the other side of the gravestone, then towards a slightly darkened area. Upon coming to this area, he suddenly shot back and started growling at it uneasily. "What's wrong, boy?"

"I'm willing to bet the Heartless are behind this," said Arc.

"Without a doubt," agreed Orchid.

"Oh, come on, guys," said Jack. "You shouldn't be so hard on them. They've been a great help this year! I'm sure if we go to town, we can get them to help organize a search party."

Orchid sighed and shrugged. The group followed Jack as he walked back to the town. They went down the narrow, crooked streets and dark alleys until they came to the town square, its gargoyle fountain still spewing greenish liquid. There weren't too many people about, though a number of Heartless search ghosts were floating around.

"Hey, there!" said Jack, running up to a group of them. The search ghosts turned and stared at him curiously. "Have you seen Sally?"

The search ghosts gave no indication of understanding what he meant.

"The girl with the red hair and ragdoll body," he added helpfully. One of the search ghosts tilted its head, then nodded in recognition. "Have you seen her?"

All three of the Heartless shook their heads.

"Well, sorry to hear that," sighed Jack. "Well, do you think you might be able to get some of your pals together and organize a search for her?"

The Heartless that had understood him wavered from side to side, as if trying to decide. Suddenly, its back when straight and it stood as if shocked, then quickly relaxed and assumed its normal wavering self. It nodded at him.

"Great! Wish you luck, good fellows!" said Jack. He turned to the trio. "Okay, while they do that, let's get these blooms to Dr. Finklestein!"

Arc stared suspiciously as the Heartless stalked off. Something wasn't right.

-

"We need more time," muttered Daemon.

"Hey!"

"Mister!"

"We're here!"

"Ah, you three," he said. "Is it all ready?"

"Ready as ever!"

"Raring to go!"

"Very well. Then lead him on your merry chase."

"With pleasure."

There was the sound of evil laughter as the three skittered away, malicious intents in mind.

-

"Ah, Jack, I see you made it back in one piece," observed Dr. Finklestein. "So, did you bring back the flowers that I needed?"

"Uh, yeah, I have them," said Orchid as she went through her pockets. She soon came up with a handful of soft, deep purple blooms. "This good enough?"

"That should be a sufficient amount," agreed the doctor, taking them from her. He flipped the lever on the arm of his wheelchair and steered himself over to the desk, where the Poison Ivy keychain still rested. Then, he tossed the flowers into a pestle, and ground them up with the mortar. Adding dashes and bits of various powders and ingredients, he ended up with a rough, black, granular mixture, which he poured into the dark cage of the keychain with the help of a funnel.

The reaction was almost immediate.

The small metal cage shook as if something was moving in it, and soon, little black tentacles snaked their way out of the darkness to wrap around the steely bars as top. It wasn't until they grew bigger and sprouted inky black leaves that Orchid realized that they were vines, not tentacles.

When it finished, the metal cage keychain was entwined and wrapped in ebony vines with dark black leaves, sinister, and very much alive. The doctor handed it to Orchid, and she took it with reluctance.

"Well, try it on the keyblade, kupo!" said Montblanc. Orchid nodded, then summoned the keyblade and hooked the new keychain onto the key ring that Clockwork Grape's keychain hung off of.

Quickly, the keyblade lost its shimmering green for the inky black that it had had as Poison Ivy. Off the handguards and haft sprouted sinister black leaves, dark as night and slick as sin. The bunch of grapes had now been replaced by a set of black leaves, set around a single, large purple bloom, so dark as to almost be black. No light reflected off it, and Orchid suspected this was no fault of the dim laboratory lights.

"Nightshade," she said, knowing the blade's new name.

"Sweet," grinned Arc.

"Does it give you any new abilities, kupo?" asked Montblanc.

"Well...I have Poison back again," said Orchid. "And now...I also have a spell called 'Terror'. I wonder what that does?"

No one got a chance to offer an idea before there was a yelling at the door. They all hurried downstairs, except for the doctor, to see who it was.

They opened the door to find a small, somewhat squat and triangular man with a top hat thinner than Jack and almost as tall as him too. The man had a smiling peachy colored face with funny looking eyes.

"Oh, Jack, I'm so glad to see you!" he said. Then his head turned around to reveal another face, this one worried, pale, and nervous. "You've got to help me!"

"Why, Mayor," said Jack. "What's wrong?"

"It's Oogie's boys!" he whispered, as if afraid to be heard.

"Jack! Jack! It's Jack!" came the shout.

The mayor scurried into the tower and hid behind Jack and the others as three little figures scrambled up. The first was a little boy dressed in red, with wiggling pointed tail. He wore a red devilish mask over his tall face. The next was a girl, in a green witch's mask and faded purple dress, along with a tall pointed hat. Lastly was a rotund, portly boy, with a grinningly ghoulish gray mask and skeleton decorated clothes. He licked at a black and orange lollipop.

"Why, it's Halloween's finest Trick-or-Treaters!" said Jack happily. "And to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"And we thought you didn't like us," said the girl shyly.

"Daemon sent us!" said the pudgy boy.

"By name!" added the devil boy.

The introduced themselves to all, one by one, taking off their masks.

"Lock!" said the devil.

"Shock!" said the witch.

"And Barrel!" said the ghoul, taking a lick at his lollipop.

Their faces were not very different from their masks.

"Why did Daemon send you?" asked Jack.

"He sent us to warn you!" said Shock.

"Oogie's back in town!" added Lock, dancing from one foot to the other.

"And he's got the girl!" finished Barrel.

"You mean Sally?" said Jack in surprise.

"Didn't you people already beat Oogie? With Sora and those guys?" asked Orchid.

"Old haunts die hard," said the Mayor in a frightened voice. "I'll just stay here while you take care of this, if you don't mind."

"Can you take me to him?" said Jack urgently.

"Yeah!" nodded Lock.

"Sure thing!" shouted Shock as she hurried down the path from the tower.

"This way!" called Barrel as the four of them ran after the three little kids.

"Well, I guess you'll get to find out Terror does pretty soon, neh?" grinned Arc lopsidedly to Orchid.

-

"Fall into my web, little Skellington fly," he recited emotionlessly. "Once you are gone, I'll suck this world dry."

-

They were near the twisted spiral hill when they attacked.

"Heartless!" shouted Orchid, swinging the keyblade around.

Searchghosts, the heartless in coats and gloves, gargoyles, the leathery bat-like ones, and wight nites, the spinning cyclopean mummies, crawled out from under the shadows of tombstones, surrounding them.

Lock, Shock, and Barrel gave little screams of terror and ran off to hide as Arc and Orchid drew their blades, and Montblanc readied his wand. Jack looked about in surprise, then crouched low and spider-like, ready to fight.

"Bring it on," grinned Orchid, waving about Nightshade.

She was duly obliged by a pouncing wight nite, who took the keyblade straight in the face, dispersing into inky black particles, only to be sucked back in again by the keyblade.

"Hah!" yelled Arc as Sequence sliced a gargoyle out of the air in mid-dive. Turning, he bashed another Heartless with his sheild, smashing in its face and destroying it.

"Let's go, guys!" shouted Jack as he slid gracefully on his knees through a crowd of Heartless, knocking them this way and that, then tearing at them with his bony hands.

"Thundara, Blizzara, Fira!" cast Montblanc, unleashing a salvo of magic. All around him, Heartless dissappeared in puffs of fire, lightning, and ice.

Orchid turned after beating a searchghost, only to get knocked off her feet by a swooping gargloyle. Sliding roughly across the ground, she quickly scrambled back up, and took aim with the keyblade.

"Let's try this..." she muttered as she got the gargoyle in her sights. "Terror!"

A cloud of sin black bats came swooping out of nowhere, surrounding the Heartelss until it was no longer visible. The floating black mass in the sky struggled and grew, until it was a featureless ink black ball. Then it burst, and there was nothing there.

"Awesome!" said Orchid, turning and blocking the blow of a wight nite. "Poison!"

Her spell hit a clump of searchghosts, spraying them with noxious green ooze that slid off them with sickening drops. The Heartless shuddered and twitched, but kept attacking. However, their moves were sluggish and slow, and they were weak to the blows from attacks.

"Applause!" shouted Jack, as lightning burst out around him, thundering like a tumultous crowd, scattering Heartless left and right.

"Get offa me!" yelled Arc irately as a wight nite latched onto his arm. He shook it off, only to get another clinging to his back. Montblanc was encountering similar problems, and even Jack was starting to get bogged down. There were just to many of them.

"Moonlight," yelled Orchid, sweeping away a Heartless that came too close, "Rave!"

She stepped, and then blurred out of sight.

Jack, Arc and Montblanc watched as Heartless flew all over, dispersing into their base darkness and trailing after the blur of explosions as they were sucked into the keyblade. As they shook off the last few hanging onto them, they watched as Orchid leapt and blurred out again, only to appear just above the final clump of Heartless.

"Finale!" she yelled as she came down. She blurred out again, the entire group of enemies exploded into a million inky fragments. The dust cleared, and Orchid stood in the middle, grinning.

"Let's go rescue Sally," she said.

-

"They're coming, they're coming!" shouted Shock and Barrel as they ran up the slope.

"Good. And the trap's all set," said Daemon coldly.

-

"Come on, you guys, hurry!" urged Lock as he led the four warriors through the graveyard. "This way!"

He led them over low walls and around masoleums until they crossed over a thin stone bridge. On the other side stood a pair of imposing black gates, wide open like a gaping maw. Shock and Barrel stood there, anxiously dancing from foot to foot.

"So Oogie's in there?" asked Jack as he walked up and peered into the gloomy depths of the forest.

"Yeah!" said Shock.

"Just follow the path!" said Barrel.

"I've got to help Sally!" said Jack as he ran in through the open gates.

"Tch...Doesn't even check if it's safe," sighed Arc.

"Hey," said Orchid, turning to the three little kids, who were giggling quietly. The three stopped and turned to face her, masks innocent. "Thanks for helping us."

"No problem," said Lock, grinning.

"None at all," added Shock, pulling a lever.

"Just doing what we're supposed to!" laughed Barrel as the gates to the forest slammed closed.

The three laughed maniacally as Orchid ran forwards and tried to open the gates, to no avail.

"Jack, wait!" she shouted. "It's a trap!"


	40. Downfall of a Ruler

Eh, finals: Great, another short chapter. Ah, well, there wasn't a stopping point for quite a while.

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-

"Poor Jack," came the cold, haunting voice out of the gloom. "Lost his girl, lost his way. Soon to lose his title and his life."

"That voice..." said Jack as he looked this way and that, trying to pin where the speaker was. "Daemon!"

"Yes," agreed the voice. "Daemon."

Daemon stepped into the dim light of the forest before him. He no longer wore the demonic red half of his mask. Now revealed was a cold, emotionless half a face, with a pit black eye, void of color. A scar ran over the eye, from cheek to forehead, though it did not mar it. His half a mouth was a close, pursed frown. He still wore the other half of his mask, the simplistically smiling white side.

"Who were you expecting, Skellington?" he continued. "Oogie Boogie? No, he's were he belongs; Oogie's dead and gone. There's only me here."

"What have you done with Sally?" demanded Jack, stalking towards him.

"Ah, the ragdoll," said Daemon, stepping back into the shadows. "She's been...taken care of. I doubt you'll ever see her again in your ever so short lifespan."

"You lie!" he shouted, lunging forwards and swinging his fists as Daemon disappeared into the gloom.

"I don't lie," whispered Daemon quietly, just behind Jack. "You know that as well as I do, Skellington. For all I am, I am not a liar."

-

"What are you three up to!?" shouted Orchid as she pounced in an attempt to catch Lock, who skittered away across the stone bridge.

"We're just playing a game!" grinned Barrel.

"And Jack's in the mushpot now!" added Shock.

"What do you mean?" demanded Arc, swiping at her with his sword, just a little too slowly.

"When Mr. Elias Daemonwing," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Is done with him," continued Lock.

"He'll come for you!" finished Barrel, and the three went into uproarious malicious laughter.

"Not if I can help it!" yelled Orchid as she lunged and skidded across the stone, just barely missing catching him. Despite his pudginess, he was quick. "Now get back here and open that gate!"

"Nuh-uh!" said Lock, sticking his tongue out at her.

"That's it, punk!" raged Arc, leaping up into the air. His tinted lenses glowed yellow in the moonlight as he came plummeting down again, sword first. "Hah!"

Giving little screams of terror, the three little kids ran about, then dodged out of the way of his strike just at the last moment, giggling evily.

"Fine then," growled Orchid, pointing Nightshade at Barrel. "Terror!"

Multitudes of bats, black as night and slick as sin, descended on the hapless child, engulfing him in darkness.

"Ah, stop it!" were the shouts from inside the mass of fear. "Stop it!"

Orchid had a look of grim satisfaction as the orb of terror broke apart, though that soon went away.

"Stop it!" giggled Barrel, rolling about on the ground. "That tickles!"

"Thundara!" cast Montblanc, raising his rod skyward. Triple bolts of lightning slammed down on the bridge about them.

"Eeps!" said Shock, dodging just out of the way, and running into Lock, who had also narrowly avoided being hit. Barrel however, was tottering about unsteadily, smoking slightly. They all fell to the stone floor in a heap.

"Okay, you little rats," snarled Arc, walking up imposingly to the three tricksters, who cowered in his shadow. "Open the gate."

"Uh, sure..." said Shock in a quivering voice as they got to there feet.

Arc grinned victoriously, and missed the sly wink that passed among the three conspirators.

"As soon as you catch us!" shouted Lock, waving his fingers at Arc childishly.

"You little punk!" raged Arc, lunging at them. Lock and Shock dodged to the sides, giggling wildly as Barrel hunched down. Arc went tripping over the low figure, and with a couple of pushes from the other two, he went tumbling over the side of bridge.

"Hey, you can't do that!" shouted Orchid in shock.

"You mean this?" grinned Lock as he jumped at her. His tackle landed square on her chest, and sent her tumbling over the other side of bridge with a scream as he landed back on the stone.

"I got the other one!" shouted Barrel gleefully as he wrestled Montblanc to the side.

"Plug his mouth!" urged Shock. "He casts spells!

"Got it!" said Lock, duly obliging. "Owch! He bit me!"

"We'll get you, kupo!" squeaked Montblanc as he struggled in their grasp. "You'll be sorry!"

"Whatever!" they shouted happily as they flung him over the side. The laughed maniacally as he plummeted down.

-

Jack swung his hand over his shoulder, hoping do catch Daemon by surprise, but the man just quickly dodged back. Jack turned to face him, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Give it up, Skellington," said a voice behind him. Jack swung around, coming face to face with Daemon. "You're Pumpkin King no more. You'll never leave these woods alive."

"No!" shouted Jack in rage, swiping at Daemon again, and still with no success. Daemon melted like mist between his fingers, leaving only shadows.

"As much as I like to prolong your psychological torture," intoned the emotionless voice of Elias of the Daemon Wings, "I have a world to consume. So now I bid you farewell, Skellington."

"You can't do this!" raged Jack.

"It's too late for that," said Elias coldly. "Far, far too late."

He snapped his fingers, and the ground beneath Jack's feet glowed a hellish red.

"Inferno."

An enormous pillar of flame blasted out of the ground, entirely engulfing the skeleton man.

He left nothing behind but blackened ashes.

"Did you get him, did you get him?" asked the trio of tricksters eagerly.

"Yes," said Elias coldly, throwing the red demonic half of his mask over the edge of the bridge. "And did you deal with the Keyblade Master?"

"We sure did!" grinned Lock.

"With ease!" added Shock.

"And style!" finished Barrel.

"Very well," said Daemonwing. "Now, back to town. The Heartless should have found the gate to this world's heart by now."

-

Orchid awoke with a start.

It was dark, and she couldn't see anything. She tried to remember what happened, but could only remember bits and pieces. They had fallen off the bridge, and landed in the water, or something like that. The current had been strong, and they had been sucked under. She remembered being afraid of drowning. Then everything was gone, and she woke up here.

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud.

"You're in the cellar of Jack's house," whispered a voice. Orchid jumped and hit her head on the low roof in surprise. A match flared in the dark, revealing the face of Sally. "Quiet, now, or you'll give us away."

"Sorry," said Orchid softly. Then she asked, "Why are we hiding?"

"There are Heartless all over, just like you said," whispered Arc, coming in from a trap door in the ceiling, and closing it behind them. "The town's full of them."

"Kupo..." moaned Montblanc, rubbing his head as he sat up. "How did we get here?"

"I pulled you out of the drain," said Sally. "Luckily, I found you before the Heartless did."

"Thanks," said Orchid. Then, "Wait, how did you get here? We thought the Heartless got you!"

"They did," said Sally. "But I think Daemon wanted to deal with me personally at his leasure. The Heartless merely locked me up. Of course, I'm pretty good at escaping."

"So now you're hiding down here?" asked Arc.

"Yes," she said sadly. "I can't do anything else."

She turned to Orchid.

"You've got to find Jack!" she pleaded. "He's the only one who can clear up this whole mess!"

"We'll do that," assured Orchid. And under her breath, "Hopefully, he's still alive."

"Now go quickly, and try not to let the Heartless spot you!" said Sally as they went up the trap door.

They came out around the back of Jack's house. Quietly removing a patrolling search ghost, they scurried down the alley to the town square.

"Okay, how are we gonna do this quietly?" asked Orchid, staring at the many Heartless wandering about.

"Aero," said Montblanc softly, and a light breeze picked up around them, lifting them gently off the ground. With a wave of his rod, he directed them silently out across the court in the shadows, until they reached the gates. Opening them as quietly as they could, they then proceeded to float out, then slam the gates behind them and take off running.

"We're coming, Jack!" shouted Orchid as they ran.

-

Within the ashes, something stirred.

In the deep shadows of the woods beyond the stone bridge, amidst the ashes of the demon's spell, something stirred.

A bony white finger, dusted in fine gray soot poked out of the dust, then another, and another. A ragged hand came up, followed by a bony arm in a black sleeve, which pulled up behind the rest of a very, very worn-out Jack Skellington.

"I've failed them all..." he said tragically. "What have I done?"


	41. The Pumpkin King

Wahahaha: Wee, I got the best line from the entire movie worked in here! Yeah, last chapter in Halloweentown. To the Surfing Demon, I say that no, these chapters are not pre-written. I post them as soon as I've finished them. My school's got a funky schedule, and I just had my last final yesterday. Hence, I have today, friday, off! Woot. And I have no idea what you mean by Porta-Skellington. As for Indigo, Mewt is a guy, a friend of Marche's. Anyone who's played FFTA can probably guess who Marche was talking about when he said "finding her", but everyone else will just have to remain in the dark. And I'm happy because I had some great inspiration for stuff about Outcasts of Arcadia. Anyways, R&R everyone! Thankies!

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-

"You haven't found it yet?" asked Elias. "I am _most_ displeased with that."

The Heartless almost cringed back from him, as if afraid.

"Find it quickly," he said coldly. "I wish to be rid of this world already."

-

"Everything is lost..." despaired Jack, standing sadly in the burnt out clearing. "I couldn't help."

He looked down at his soot-blackened hands.

"I am...nothing," he said. "Bravado. Showman. But when it's really real...everything just slips through my fingers."

He clenched his hands into fists, the ash falling like black snow from them as he did.

"I've lost Halloween," he continued sadly. "Spoiled all. Spoiled all."

He raised his arms up, like an actor taking his final bow.

"And now it's over," he finished. His head went back, face skywards, arms limp in resignation. "The end of Jack. Find a deep cave and hide me, in a million years they'll find me; only dust. And a plaque. That reads 'Here Lies Poor Old Jack'."

He dropped straight back, stiff as a board at the last dramatic note, disappearing in a puff of ashes as he fell to the ground, intending to never speak again until the end, which he felt was not far off.

-

"Jack, Jack, where are you?" shouted Orchid as the trio sped through the dark, gloomy forest.

"Look there, kupo!" said Montblanc, pointing to the clearing, which had obviously been decimated by fire.

They ran over to the pile of ashes that obscured the ground.

"This looks like where they fought," commented Arc. "He's probably not far from here."

They looked about, but found no sign of the skeleton man. Finally, Orchid walked towards the heap of ashes and stared at them with growing frustration.

"Damn it!" she shouted, swinging the keyblade wildly at the pile. Soot puffed up around where she struck, unveiling something that had been previously covered. "Jack...?"  
She bent over and brushed the ashes off the recognizable skull as the other two walked over. She stared sadly at the face of her breifly known friend.

"Jack..." she said mournfully. "But no...you've got to help us! I...Sally...I mean...Daemon is-!"

"I know," interrupted Jack Skellington solemnly. "He will destroy this world. And I could do nothing to stop him."

"That's not true!" shouted Orchid, quickly recovering from her shock. "You're the _only_ one who can stop him!"

"Then I guess our last hope has gone out," he said gravely as he sat up amidst the ashes, almost as tall sitting down as Orchid was standing up. "It's all over now. Only a matter of time."

"Of course it is if you talk like that!" snarled Arc. "Are you even listening to what you're saying?"

"I am," he answered. "And I say what I mean. It's all over. Everything is lost. I tried to stop him, and I failed."

"You only really fail if you give up now!" urged Orchid. "We can still stop him."

"We?" Jack laughed weakly, standing up and swaying softly. Ashes fell from him like soft, feathery tears of the dead. "_I_ can't do anything."

"That's not true!" shouted the girl.

"I can't," repeated the skeleton.

"We need you, Jack! Halloween needs you!" she said. Then she added softly, "Sally needs you."

Jack opened his mouth to protest again, but paused quietly.

"Sally..." he whispered.

"You can do _anything_!" shouted Orchid. "You're the Pumpkin King!"

"That's right..." he said softly. Then more loudly, "That's right!"

He turned and straightened, shoulders broad and eyes aflame.

"I _AM_ THE PUMPKIN KING!" he roared. "This is _my_ town, and nobody is going to hurt _my_ friends!"

"Jack..." said Orchid in awe at the towering figure before her.

"Let's go meet Daemon," growled Jack dangerously.

-

"Quickly now," urged Elias as they exited the town, heading into the graveyard. "We've dallied enough on this forsaken world."

The Heartless raced ahead of him, a dark wave proceeding before the man, flooding out of the gates and over the crypts. They hungered, hungered so badly for this world's heart.

"Daemon!" roared a figure on the twisted spiral hilltop. Silhouetted by the brightly burning moon behind him, the skeleton figure of the Pumpkin King stood imposingly above the mass of darkness coming towards him.

"Please, Elias will suffice," said the half-masked man calmly.

"You will not go any further," commanded Jack, walking slowly and grimly down the hill.

"You cannot stop my forces, Skellington," replied Elias.

"Not by myself," agreed Jack. "But with my friends, I can do anything!"

On cue, bolts of lightning fell from the sky, decimating the tightly packed swarms of Heartless. Light glinted momentarily off the tinted lenses of Arc as he leaped into the air, then plummeted downwards, fist first and shield in hand.

"Planet Diver!" he yelled, unnatural fires bursting out around him. He crashed into the mass of darkness with the force of a meteor, destroying multitudes of Heartless who had no space to run. While they lay about dazed, he came up swinging, sword and shield both, cutting and bludgeoning one and all.

"Fira!" shouted Montblanc, knocking out a gargoyle that had been about to make a dive at Arc while he was busy.

"I can't handle the air also," shouted Arc as he fought with the search ghosts and wight nites. "Orchid!"

"Shooting Star!" she yelled, jumping into the air. She swung the keyblade and released it and it went flying outwards, spinning through the air, a deadly projectile accurately destroying her targets and returning to her hand.

"Strike!" she yelled, throwing it again. Nightshade whirled through the dark sky, cutting into Heartless that had been just about to attack her friend from behind. The black blade came flying back, starting to glow with the energy gathered from the attacks. "Strike!"

Montblanc unleashed spell after spell upon the grouped up masses of Heartless, their knotted clumps making perfect targets as Arc wreaked havoc on any and all around him.

"Wish!" Orchid finally shouted when the keyblade was glowing white with power. The energy gathered at the tip, then exploded out with a brilliant flash aimed at Elias, destroying all in its way. The explosion was magnificent.

"Hmm..." came the voice from amidst the dust as it cleared. "Not bad."

Elias stood in the center of the destruction, barely even scratched.

"If not for all the Heartless between us, that might have hurt," he added.

Then he raised his hand before him, and snapped his fingers at Orchid, who was still falling in midair, having been blasted fairly high up by the last attack.

"Thordain!" he said. Black lightning engulfed Orchid as it fell from the sky and welled up from the earth. Arc, Montblanc, and Jack all stared in horror as they watched their friend be swallowed by unearthly discharge, the likes of which they had never seen before.

The flash was blinding, and when it cleared, nothing was left in the sky.

"Nice try," smirked Orchid wearily from where she stood on the ground. The air danced around her in a protective barrier, and pieces of light sparkled green as she healed herself partially. "Unfortunately for you, I know magic also."  
"A barrier," observed Elias. "Annoying, but not insurmountable."

He stepped back into the shadows, and when Orchid turned around at the sound of movement, she came face to face with him, his long, black hair drifting behind him in an unfelt breeze.

"Dispel," he said quietly. There was a faint noise, like breaking glass, and Orchid's spell shattered around her like so many broken dreams. As she stared in shock, he calmly thrust his arm, palm outwards, hitting her square in the chest and sending her flying down the slope.

He leapt lightly through the air, landing right in front of her.

"Now, Flower of Arcadia, you die," he said coldly, bringing his hand back for the final blow.

"Aero!" she said weakly, managing a small gust of wind as his arm went back. "Ah...ah...."

His hand plunged forwards.

"Tornado!" shouted Orchid, eyes shut tightly, keyblade pointed before her.

Roaring winds tore up around her, driving Elias back away from her. The ground was ripped open by the raging gale, sending dirt and debris flying in the hurricane force. There was a burst of power as the spell subsided, and for a moment, everything was still and silent.

"Annoying," observed Elias clinically. Then he stepped forwards and raised his hand back again.

Orchid looked up dazidly at him, drained from such a forced release of magic.

"Look out!" shouted Arc as Elias brought his hand down.

He slapped her.

The girl went sailing through the air, colliding hard with a stone monument to the dead.

"Orchid!" squeaked Montblanc in distress.

Elias walked slowly up to her limp form as she struggled to regain control of herself and get up. He stood above her, staring harshly down on her twitching figure.

"You have caused us much trouble, Keyblade Master," he said softly. "Now I ask you to leave."

His hair and coat fluttered in an unseen wind as he gathered energy to him, preparing a finishing spell. Orchid looked up, eyes terrified, helpless against the demon above her.

"No!"

A bony hand wrapped around the delicate white flesh of Elias's neck, and threw him away in rage.

"Daemon!" yelled Jack as he stalked over in fury. As Elias began to rise, he leaped and grabbed him by the neck again, then slammed him back against a masoleum wall, holding him pinned there. "How dare...you treat my _friends_ like that!"

For a moment, and only for a moment, it looked like there was fear in Elias's single visible eye.

Then it was gone, and replaced by a dazed look, as if he were far away.

"What...what's happening?" asked Orchid as she stumbled to her feet and stared at the forms of Jack and Elias, and the nimbus of swirling light that was forming around the latter.

Suddenly, Elias blinked, and everything was back to normal.

"Skellington," he said calmly, acting for all the world as if he wasn't in a death grip by the man, "as much as I would love to stay, and finish you off properly this time, I have other pressing matters to attend to. So, kindly, if you would please let me go..."

"Let you go?" raged Jack, slamming the man back against the wall again. "After what you did?"

"Do not say I didn't give you a way out..." murmured Elias as he brought up his hand between them.

He snapped his fingers.

"Freezeblink!"

There was a blast of freezing wind eminating from him, sending the Pumpkin King and everyone else, Heartless included, flying backwards.Then a pillar of ice shot up from the ground, incasing the skeleton entirely, then shattering harshly, leaving him cold and limp on the ground amidst the shards.

"And now," said Elias, as Orchid ran to Jack while Arc and Montblanc fended off the Heartless, "I take my leave."

There was a fluttering of dark wings, and then he was gone.

-

With Elias gone, cleaning up the remaining Heartless had been almost no problem. No one had suffered anything serious, excepting Jack from Elias's parting attack, though there was no permanent harm that a few castings of Cura couldn't fix. All that was left was to seal the keyhole.

"Do you know where it is?" Arc asked Jack. The man shook his head.

"When Sora was here, it was where Oogie Boogie's house once stood, but from what you've told me, it'll be somewhere different now," he recalled.

"Well, Orchid can sense it, right, kupo?" suggested Montblanc. He looked up to the girl, and she nodded.

"Yeah...it's near by," she said. She held out Nightshade in front of her and slowly started turning around. Halfway through her rotation, she stopped. "This way."

She started walking forwards, smoothly avoiding the gravemarkers in her way until she was heading up the twisted spiral hill that dominated the center of the landscape. She easily walked to the top, keyblade held before her, then stopped as she reached the peak.

"Where is it?" asked Arc as the other three came up the hill behind her.

"It's..." She turned suddenly, at a right angle to the hill and faced the moon. The others watched in horrified interest as a most unnatural thing happened.

The moon turned. On the farside of it, now revealed to them, was a keyhole.

"But...it's so far away, kupo," said Montblanc.

Not hearing her, Orchid reached forwards with the keyblade. It was hard to tell in the dark if it was just a ball-sized moon with a keyblade-sized hole floating a few feet away from her, or if it was a regular-sized moon with an enormous keyhole on it, hovering a million miles away. Maybe it was the same thing. Either way, she reached the tip of the keyblade into the hole, the pulled it back out, trailing the familiar strand of light. She turned it, and there was an omnipresent click. And then the keyhole was gone.

"I guess that's that," said Jack. He smiled his skeleton grin. "That's a nice trick."

"Thanks," smiled Orchid as she started back down the hill. They walked down together, Arc trailing right behind. But Montblanc stood there, staring at something on the ground. He reached down and picked it up.

"Was this here before, kupo?" he asked quietly, staring at the luminescent circle of white. It was translucently pale, and shaped like a smooth river stone, almost perfectly round, like a miniature discus, barely bigger than his paw.

"release me."

Montblanc stared at the stone for a moment. Then he shrugged, and put it in a jacket pocket. It happened by coincidence that it was the same pocket that he kept the crystalline fragment that radiated lightning.

"Come on, Montblanc! We're gonna leave without you!" shouted Orchid teasingly.

"Kupo!" he squeaked as he came out of his daze, then hurried down the hill. He tripped and rolled the rest of the way down, causing Orchid to giggle and Arc and Jack to chuckle. He protested, "Not funny!"

"Come on," smiled Orchid, helping him up. "It's time to say our goodbyes."

---

"So, why have you summoned me?" Elias asked the head assistant coldly.

"We have made a breakthrough, Lord Daemonwing," rasped the Heartless emotionlessly. "The barriers guarding their hearts are finally starting to crumble."

"How far?" he asked.

"Not far. But enough to let the Master in. They are not yet controllable, however, there have been certain advantages we've gained."

"Such as?"

"The darkness has crept into their hearts, Lord. It is a start. Notably, we've unlocked some of Malificent's taint in the silver haired boy. He had quite an interesting ability."

To demonstrate, the Heartless turned to its fellow workers and signaled. The others nodded and went to their workstations, flipping various switches and dials on the control panels. There was a humming sound, then dark lightning shot down the wall from electrodes and struck Riku's comatose, twitching body.

The boy cried out in pain, and for a moment, his eyes were open.

Then he was limp again, and before him stood a Heartless, the likes of which had only been seen once before.

"He was given the power to make a Heartless replica of the Keyblade Master," explained the head assistant coldly. The newly formed Heartless, standing in the middle of the room, was for all the world like a fourteen year old Sora, complete with keyblade. The only difference was that this one was inky black, with no color at all, except for two glowing yellow eyes.

"A great asset," noted Elias calmly, walking around the Heartless, inspecting it.

"We have also managed to graft the technique onto the subject for the Grey One," added the head assistant. At this, the other assistants worked another succesion of levers and buttons, resulting in a loud humming. Elias turned to watch in interest the large glass tube that dominated the center of the wall between the control panels, opposite of where Riku and Leon hung from chains. In the tube was a clear liquid, faintly green and bubbling. In it floated a young man with long black hair that floated about in the substance. His right eye was now uncovered, unlike how it was normally, and revealed a mechanical lense installed where his optics should have been. He floated almost peacefully, single eye closed as light from below gently caressed his naked skin. His belongings, including two wooden hilted katana, his clothes, and two slick black guns, sat in a recepticle at the foot of the tank.

"Now," grated the head assistant's cold voice.

Black lightning ripped through the serene waters of the tank, and the body inside writhed in agony as it struck him. Then it was over, and a dark form stood before the tank.

"Very good," admired Elias softly. The new Heartless stood tall, an exact, but blackened replica of what floated in the tank. It was unarmed, but had sharp, vicious claws. It had only one eye, and that was a fierce, glowing orb of hunger. "And the other?"

The head assistant paused, almost as if afraid, then spoke.

"The Master...has not been able to reach him. He is very strong," admitted the Heartless.

"I see," said Elias quietly as he stalked over to the limp form of Leon. His half-revealed face betrayed no emotion, not rage nor disappointment as he studied the downcast form of Squall Leonheart. He whispered to the unconscious form, "You cannot escape us, Leonheart. You may be the strongest, but even the strongest shall bow before the Master."

---

"Well, goodbye, Halloweentown," said Orchid fondly as she stared at the world through the gummi ship window. They had all resumed their normal clothes, a fact of which Arc was highly pleased.

"Where are we off to next, kupo?" asked Montblanc.

"Well..." said Arc as he studied the control panel. "We haven't been to Traverse Town in a while. Might as well check in with those guys."

"So we're heading to Traverse Town now?" Orchid said cheerfully as she turned in her seat. "Ooh, then we can tell Sora all about our adventures!"

"Yeah..." started Arc. Then his eyes grew wide. And he grinned. "Nope. First things first."

"What are you talking about?" she asked as he started setting in the destination into the navi computer.

"Apparently, there's a new tournament at the Coliseum," he smiled. "Maybe some real oppenents for me to test my blade on."

"Oh, brother," moaned Orchid. "Just can't pass up a fight, can you?"

"No way," laughed Arc happily.

"Well, then," said the girl, smiling a little. "To the Coliseum it is!"


	42. A Battle of Idiots

Wootah: new chapter up! And I got Katie back to workin' on her fic too! And, thanks to Demon Surfer mentioning Bahamut, I had some more inspiration towards Outcasts of Arcadia. Sorry, but Bahamut's not in Black Orchid. And who's in the summon gems is a secret, though I'll tell you that they're called the Lightning Fragment and the Fairy Gem. As for the Tube, that's Dar'ck stuck in there. He's the one slated to be turned into "the Grey One", remember? Anyways, glad to see you people reading. And lastly: All your pleads for Squall to stay strong and resist are in vain! Mwahahahahaha! And now, for what I consider my most comedic chapter yet. Yay for Dincht.

Oh, yeah, and I edited my profile. Check it out. Kudos to anyone who recognizes all the references. (with the exception of the Crimson Angel, since I made that up).

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---

"Hey, Phil," said Orchid as they strode in the door of the Olympus Coliseum.

"Ah, crap, it's you guys again," grumbled the satyr as they walked up the stairs.

"So, what's the new tourney?" asked Arc, grinning widely. "And where's Herc?"

"Wonderboy's out goofin' off with whatsherface," mumbled Phil. "And it's the Pegasus Cup this time."

"Can we enter in?" asked Orchid, remembering the fiasco with the last tournament and the entry forms.

"You guys are automatically in once you show up," said Phil. "Being that you won the last tournament."

"Sweet," grinned Arc.

"So do we get champ positioning and just have to fight the last match?" asked Orchid eagerly.

"Not on your life," smirked the satyr evilly. "You still got here last."

"Not again!" groaned Orchid. "You're not using that stupid system, are you?"

"Stupid? I think it's brilliant!" protested Phil.

"So do I," added another voice. The three turned to see who it was.

"Zell!" shouted Arc, grinning. "What're you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" smiled the fighter, giving Arc a little fake salute. "I'm here for the tournament."

"Wait..." paused Arc, putting things together. "Don't tell me you got here first!"

"Right before all those damn Heartless," grinned Zell. "Nice hand, by the way."

"Hmm? Oh, this," he said, bringing up his right arm. "Yeah, forgot you guys haven't seen this yet. Got it when I went home. No more stone clunker for me."

"Well, then, I'll see you out on the field," grinned Zell before heading down the hall. "You better not lose to anyone else."

"We're not losing to you either!" yelled Orchid after him.

-

"So that's where Cloud went," said Phil. Hercules, who had shown up a little while ago, and him were being filled in on all the latest news by Montblanc as the other two duked it out in the ring with the Heartless. They had decided that Montblanc might as well sit out to conserve magic and also to provide a better challenge. "Maybe he'll turn up sometime soon."

"Kupopo...it seemed like he was looking for something first," said Montblanc doubtfully. "Could be a while, kupo."

Meanwhile, Orchid and Arc found themselves suddenly wishing they had Montblanc with them as they faced the 3rd seed.

"Run away!"

The two of them scrambled out of the way as a veritable rain of the elements came pouring down from above. The Heartless they faced were no less than twenty mages of all five types, Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Water, and Cure, four of each. But while they had the advantage of range and evasion, Arc and Orchid had the advantage of something else. They were sure they did, they just didn't know what.

"How the hell are we supposed to fight this!?" shouted Arc as he narrowly avoided being flamed, only to get shot in the head with a stream of high pressure water.

"I don't know, how 'bout you figure something out, oh mighty Lord Mousseux!" yelled Orchid sarcastically as she was sent flying by a blast of lightning.

"They're too quick for me!" he complained. "Try some magic!"

"Don't you think I thought of that?" replied the girl irately as she rolled out of the way of a blast of ice. "Whatever I shoot, they just send another to block it and absorb it!"

"Then try something they can't absorb!"

"Like what?"

"Like Terror, or Poison!"

"The green ones are immune to those!"

"Crap!"

They continued to dodge and occasionally try to counterattack as the match went on.

"Could I...?" started Montblanc. Phil shook his head.

"Sorry, kiddo, match's already started. Wait 'till next round."

"Do that Tornado thing, like you did in Halloweentown!" suggested Arc as he stumbled away from a lightning strike.

"That totally drains all my magic!" protested Orchid.

"Better than getting beat! Do you see any other option?"

Orchid growled, but relented and stood in the center of the arena, concentrating.

"Keep them off me for a while, okay?" she said as she closed her eyes and began to summon the energy for the spell.

Arc's keeping them off her involved waving his sword and charging at them when they got too close and a whole lot of playing meatshield. That is to say, he spent a lot of time getting smacked around by the Heartless.

"Okay, then," grinned Orchid, opening her eyes and raising the keyblade above her. "Tornado!"

Gale winds tore up the air around her, rending the Heartless mages into shreds of darkness and throwing them about helplessly. Arc was sent flying against the magic barrier that surrounded the fighting area, and even Hercules, Phil, and Montblanc had to shield themselves from the blast a little. When she finished, the fighting area was empty, save for one lone girl standing in the middle.

"Well, I guess that's that," she said with a smile.

-

Taking care of the 2nd seed had been easy with Montblanc rejoining them, healing all previous wounds. It was now down to the final match, the fight against Zell.

"And now, the 1st Seed, Zell Dincht!" announced Phil loudly. There was cheering from the stands, and everyone, including the trio of combatents, looked eagerly to the gates for his enterance.

No one came.

"Where the hell is he?" growled the satyr. Murmurs started going up in the stands as he continued to fail to show up.

"Why do I get this horrible suspicion..." muttered Arc as Orchid started to discuss with Montblanc if this counted as a forfeit. Montblanc decided to give him five minutes before they took it up with Phil.

It was four minutes and several near-riots from the crowds later that Zell Dincht came running into the arena, stuffing something in his face as he went.

"Man, do you know how long it takes to get a hot dog around here?" he grumbled around a mouthful of food as he stepped into the ring.

"How did I know..." sighed Arc. "Always thinkin' with your stomach, eh, Zell?"

"What! I was hungry!" he protested as he brushed some crumbs off his shorts.

"And you almost lost the match by default!" hollered Phil. "This is a tournament, ya lummox! People want to see fighting, not eating!"

"Oh, can it, ya old goat!" Zell yelled back at him.

"Can we get on with this?" interrupted Orchid, waving Nightshade about impatiently.

"Fine, fine," said Zell. "I didn't know you were so eager to be beaten."

"Shove off, Zell," taunted Arc. "You might've been able to kick me around Hollow Bastion, but while you lazed about Traverse Town, we've been toughing it up with the Heartless. Besides, you never saw me in action with _this_."

Arc waved Sequence about menacingly at Zell.

"Oh, he's got a pinsticker now," said Zell in mock terror. "I'm sooo afraid!"

"Hey, at least I know how to use a weapon, ya savage!" he shouted back. "You just bash things in with your fists!"

"Damn straight!" said the other proudly.

"Phil..." pleaded Orchid to the satyr.

"Hmm? Oh, oh," was the response. "Uh, right. Aaaaaaand, fight!"

"What?" asked the two men, deep in taunting.

Orchid's keyblade caught Zell heftily upside the chin, sending him flying back and skidding across the arena floor.

"Wahahahaha, good one!" cackled Arc maliciously, pointing at his fallen opponent. "She got you good, Zell!"

"Shut up, Arc," growled Orchid, turning and giving him the evil eye. "If you weren't on my team, you'd be right there with him."

Arc quickly stopped laughing and backed away a little.

"Now, you two wanna take this seriously?" she asked, as if daring them to say no.

"Hey, hey, my bad," said Zell as he got up, brushing a little blood from the corner of his mouth. "Sure, I'll take you seriously. Maaaan, haven't taken a smack like that since I stole Squall's boxers and hung 'em over the main gate at Hollow Bastion..."

"Seriously, remember?" shouted Orchid as she charged at him, keyblade ready to strike.

"Hmm?" said Zell as he stopped rubbing his head and looked up. He easily sidestepped her reckless charge and tripped her, sending her in a tangle of limbs skidding past him. "I will when you give me something to be serious about."

"Hey, he may be ugly as baboon and smart as one too, but he knows how to fight, Orchid!" cautioned Arc as she got to her feet.

"Yeah, listen to- Hey, what'd you call me!?" yelled Zell at him, interrupting himself.

"Baboooon!" sneered Arc, pushing up his nose and inflating his cheeks like a monkey. "Big hairy babooon!"

"You two are idiots..." groaned Orchid as she watched them yell at each other.

"Really, kupo..." sighed Montblanc.

"Come on, fight, ya numbskulls!" shouted Phil. "Don't eat, don't talk, fight!"

The two ignored the satyr and continued to mock each other and occasionally pummel one another.

"You don't mind if I...?" Orchid asked Montblanc as she walked over to him, waving the keyblade in the direction of the immature mass of stupid that dominated the center of the ring.

"Not at all, kupo," shrugged Montblanc.

"Needlenoggin!"

"Moptop!"

"Thundara!"

Lightning crashed down from above, striking the struggling forms of Arc and Zell alike. As they stood about in dazed confusion, it happened again. Getting to their feet from the blast, too dazed to argue with each other, they suddenly found themselves being electrified for a third time, sending them into a jumbled, dazed mass on the ground. This process repeated several more times.

"Kupopopo... I think you overdid it, Orchid," winced Montblanc as he watched the other two stagger to their feet and sway uncertainly.

"Boys can be so immature," she grumbled.

"Where's that X-potion?" asked Zell weakly as he sorted through his pockets. He eventually came out with a blue bottle, corked and marked "X". He popped the top off it and proceeded to chug it down. There was a certain amount of sparkling, then he shook his head and brushed off his clothes, a little beat, but not too much worse for the wear. "That really hurt, you know!"

"Montblanc, you take care of _our_ idoit while I take care of this one, okay?" sighed Orchid, waving the keyblade at the collapsed form of Arc, then at Zell.

"Got it, kupo," nodded the moogle before heading off to work on healing his unconscious friend.

"Okay, want to start this fight in earnest?" asked Orchid as she walked over towards Zell.

"Whenever you're ready," smirked the fighter.

She smiled, then charged, keyblade at the ready.

"Trying that again?" laughed Zell. He sidestepped at the last moment. However, Orchid had expected this, and skidded to a halt behind him and swung back at his legs with the keyblade. Zell gave a whoop of surprise, but jumped over the swing and dodged back. He got into a fighting position, fists ready, bouncing from one foot to the other. "Okay, now we're getting interesting."

"Alright, then," smiled Orchid. "Moonlight Rave!"

She lunged forwards, then blurred out in a burst of speed.

Zell stared in surprised, and hesitated for a moment. That moment was all she needed to get it all started.

He doubled over as the keyblade struck him in the stomach while Orchid sped by. Turning, he just caught sight of her as she blurred back into view, then pivoted gracefully and shot off again.

"Step!"

The next blow caught him in the side.

"Step!"

He managed to block this one, though his arm was left aching and she hadn't lost her momentum.

"Step!"

He closed his eyes and concentrated. When she hit him, he barely flinched, only kept concentrating.

"Step!"

"There..." he said quietly, raising his fists as she struck him again.

"Fina-"

Zell's hand wrapped around the keyblade's haft as she came close, and he wrenched it out of her hands just as she was about to finish the combo. Orchid went sprawling on the ground as he threw the keyblade away.

"Got you," he grinned. "Now it's my turn."

Orchid called the keyblade back to her, and Nightshade materialized in her hands as she got to her feet. She looked up just in time to see Zell's fist coming, and barely block with her arm.

"Punch Rush!" he shouted as he threw a double punch, hitting her block, then just below it.

"Booya!" He slammed up with his knee, catching her off guard and in the gut.

"Heel Drop!" In an amazing display of flexibility, he swung his leg over her head, then dropped his foot heavily on her.

"Mach Kick! Heel Drop! Booya! Punch Rush! Mach Kick!"

Orchid tried her best to defend herself against the onslaught of blows, but he attacked unpredictably from all different angles. The last kick knocked her up into the air, completely defenseless.

"Meteor Barret!" he shouted. Leaping into the air above her, Zell raised his fists back, energy flaring as it gathered at his palms. Then he shot downwards, slamming hard into Orchid with a monstrous explosion, throwing her back into the ground below and landing behind her. "This match is over!"

He stood and turned, looking with satisfaction at the unconscious form of Orchid.

"Now, where's that moogle..." he started.

"Hey, aren't you forgetting someone?" hailed a voice.

Turning, Zell faced the now-conscious and ready-to-fight Arc.

"Heh...I was hoping you'd wake up," smirked Zell.

"I didn't know you were so eager to be beaten," mocked Arc with a grin.

They came together with a crash, and the battle began in earnest.

"Not bad, Arc," complimented Zell as he blocked a sword blow, then took a shield to the face.

"You neither," grinned Arc as he was socked in the gut.

They matched each other blow for blow, neither giving up a step. The battle raged fiercly on, both combatents gradually wearing down, but determined not to show it. It seemed like it was going to end in a stalemate, until Zell got careless and tried to get the advantage, but left himself wide open.

"Got ya!" shouted Arc victoriously. He swung his right arm, shield in hand, in an uppercut to the gut, just below Zell's guard, catching him square in the stomach and sending him flying. "Now you're done!"

He leaped and lunged at his opponent as Zell struggled to rise.

"Clockwork Dragon!"

Unnatural flames burst out from his blade and shield and he shimmered blue with the color of time. His arms blurred in their serpentine motions, swiftly moving in unavoidable blows about his enemy. He danced about, every move precise and perfect, like the mechanics of a clock, self motivating, self perpetuating. For every blow Zell managed to block, he was hit by another three.

"Wings of the Dragon, fly into the Azure Sky!"

Arc finished with a final cross slash, and powerful aura flares burst out behind him as he blurred back into normal time and Zell fell unconscious behind him. He let out a slow, long breath and gently relaxed.

"Finished."

The crowds burst out in a roar of cheering as he fell to the ground, completely exhausted.

-

"Man, that was some match," grinned Zell as they sat around, talking on the steps in front of the coliseum.

"Oh, my aching body..." moaned Orchid as she lay back on the stairs.

"Quit your whining, you wimp!" teased Arc with a smile, patting her on the back and causing her to wince in pain.

"I'm so drained, kupo..." groaned Montblanc. "I think I used up all my magic, kupo..."

"Hey, here's somethin' for the Keyblade Master," said Zell, offering a hand to Orchid. In it was a sparkly globule of energy. "It's a combat combo."

"Hey, thanks," said Orchid, sitting up and taking the proffered power. She closed her eyes, then calmed herself as she brought the new energy into her body. The new move pulsed with raw, hard power, pounding away. "What is it?"

"Meteor Barrage," smiled Zell. "It's good for bashin' your way through hordes of opponents."

"Hey, I'm the one who beat you, don't I get anything?" complained Arc.

"I don't give out freebies to idiots," smirked the teenager.

"Hey, who you callin' an idiot, baboon!?" raged Arc, jumping to his feet.

"I'm callin' you an idiot, idiot!" shouted back Zell.

"The only idiot here is you!"

"You must be lookin' in a mirror, ugly!"

"Ugly!? Your face would scare a blind cactuar crapless!"

"Hah! That proves how stupid you are! Cactuars don't crap!"

"Shut up! How would you know, Needlenoggin', you stalk 'em or somethin'?"

"The only stalker here is you! I saw you peepin' on Yuffie that one time!"

"Me! You're the one who has so many hidden dirty mags, your bed posts don't touch the ground anymore!"

"You're both idiots," pointed out Orchid. They ignored her, now that things had gotten physical.

"They aren't gonna stop any time soon, kupo, are they?" sighed Montblanc.

"Not until they beat themselves unconscious."

"I'm drained. Can you cast any magic?"  
"No. Too tired to bash 'em either."  
They sighed. It was gonna be a long time before they got back on the gummi ship.


	43. Finding His Light

Skew: yeah, that starts again tomorrow. New semester for me. Anyways, we're actually starting to get towards the end here. After this chapter, it's the last world before Hollow Bastion. Then will be the calm before the storm, when I'm gonna wander about some and have some short stories following other characters, followed by the storm itself. Otherways to count it down is that today I reveal anothe keyblade, and after it, there are only five left. Anyways, R&R folks.

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- - -

"Hey, old man, we're back!" shouted Arc.

"Oh, it's you guys," grinned Cid as he slacked behind the counter of the Accessory Store, reading a magazine. "Haven't seen you about. Where you been?"

"Oh, here and there," said Orchid nonchalantly. "Just saving the universe, that kind of stuff."

"Heh, nice to see you're in a good mood," said Cid as he went back to reading, occasionally scratching his spiked out beard.

"So where are the others, kupo?" asked Montblanc as they sat down on the couch.

"Zell hasn't gotten back yet," answered Cid. "Yuffie and Rikku are at some office trying to see if they can get that old house in Third District again. And Sora's out on Heartless patrol with some spike-headed tough-guy that got here recently."

"Then I guess everyone's busy," sighed Orchid.

"We usually meet up in the hotel for dinner around six," added Cid. "But until then, find something to do other than loiter in my shop."

"Hey, big words from a slacker like you," pointed out Arc sourly.

"Come on, Arc," grinned Orchid, hopping off the couch and giving him a playful kick to the leg. "Quit being such a punk."

"Fine," he groaned as he hauled himself up and followed her and Montblanc out the door.

"So what now?" asked Orchid as they walked up the stairs towards Second District. She looked up and checked a clock hanging over a door. "We got an hour to burn."

"Hey, Montblanc, you still got that shard Cloud gave us?" asked Arc.

"Right here, kupo," said the moogle, pulling it out of a pocket with the Fairy Gem. "And I picked up this other one in Halloween after you sealed the keyhole."

"They're probably summon gems," said Orchid. "Let's take them to the Fairy Godmother."

"My thoughts exactly," nodded Arc.

-

"I see," said Merlin, sipping his tea as they finished telling him of their latest adventures. "I find the parts about the Shadowless extremely intruiging."

"Yeah, I always thought it was light against dark before," said Orchid, nibbling at a biscuit. "But now it's us against light _and_ dark."

"It's always best to follow the middle road," observed the wizard. He paused. "I suspect there is another, purer form of the Shadowless."

"What makes you say that, kupo?" asked Montblanc.

"Well, the ones you described still retained their identity," he answered. "Much like Jafar, or Hades, from when Sora fought them. However, one would assume that there is a baser, purer form of the Shadowless, like the regular Heartless you meet. Mindless and purely light, no even remotely human qualities left, see what I mean?"

"Yeah, maybe," agreed Orchid. "But the Shadowless are a lot more powerful and different, so maybe not?"

"No point discussing it," grumbled Arc. "If we see a big burning white thing roaring incoherently at us, then we'll know. If not, then we won't. Simple."

"Well, I'm going to see the Fairy Godmother about the summon gems," said Montblanc, hopping down from his chair and flittering over to the pumpkin carraige on his little wings. Immediatly as he landed, there was a puff of smoke, and the little toy carraige was replaced by the matronly figure of the Fairy Godmother.

"You called?" she asked the little moogle.

"We found some more summon gems," said Montblanc. He handed the Lightning Fragment over to her.

"Oh, I see," she said. She was quiet for a moment, as if listening. "Mmm, very prideful. Well, time to release you."

She waved her wand and the crystal shard floated before here, then burst apart. There was a static quality to the air, and the lights seemed to dim. Then suddenly, there was a rushing discharge of energy, and and explosion of light. Lightning coursed from floor to ceiling around them as the voice hailed them.

"I tHaNk YoU fOr My ReLeAsE. i Am YoUrS tO cOmMaNd, MaStEr."

"And what shall I call you, kupo?" asked Montblanc, lapsing into archiac at the formality in the summon's speech.

"I aM iXiOn, FrEe SpIrIt Of LiGhTnInG."

"You may leave for now, kupo. I will call upon you when you are needed."

There was a burst of light, and the presence was gone.

"That was so cool!" yelled Orchid gleefully, sitting backwards in her chair, straddling the back.

"Eh...just a bunch of bright lights," brushed off Arc.

"And we found this other one," continued Montblanc, handing the Fairy Gem to the lady.

"Two this time?" she remarked off-hand as she looked intently into the gem. "Oh, such a nice little guy."

She waved her wand again, and the disc-like gem floated before her. There was a gentle tinkling, like the sound of chimes as the gem broke apart into fragments of light. Sparkling light filled the room, gently swirling about them. Then it concentrated into a glowing ball of shimmering energy before the moogle.

"thank you for releasing me. what is your wish, my master?"

"If you'd just tell me your name," said Montblanc gently.

"my name is carbuncle, fairy of healing."

"And I am Montblanc," said the moogle. "You can go now."

There was a shimmering, and the sound of chimes, then it was gone.

-

"Ixion and Carbuncle, huh?" mused Orchid as they walked out into the Third District square. They still had another half hour before everyone would be back at the hotel. "Well, that's pretty neat."

"Nowhere near as cool as Ifrit, though," smirked Arc.

"Hey, if you want cool, Shiva is the queen of cold, Arc," pointed out Orchid smugly.

"Bad pun, little bud," groaned the man.

"Kupo...is it just me, or is it kind of quiet?" interrupted Montblanc.

"It's always kind of quiet here," said Orchid.

"No...he's right. It's too quiet," said Arc cautiously, pushing up his yellow tinted glasses. "Something's wrong."

"Heartless?" asked the girl, getting into a fighting stance, the keyblade appearing in her hands.

"No...it doesn't feel the same," he said, getting out his shield and Sequence. "Something else."

There was a flash of light, and then it stood before them.

A figure in flame, eyes ablaze was there, shining pure, white light. It was vaguely in the shape of a person, but from the way that it blazed and shifted, it was hard to distinguish features. As it moved, the air shrieked about it in its blaze.

_Darkness is like water, cold and dead; it pools together. But this, this glorious light, it blazes like a fire, alive, burning with power; running together or alone. Can't you see it? It is perfect._

The voice from eternity disappeared with a soft, lilting laugh.

"What the hell is that?" shouted Arc over the roar of the unearthly fire.

"I think it means that Merlin was right," replied Orchid grimly.

"It shines, leaving no shadow," pointed out Montblanc as he held his rod in front of him, preparing his spells.

"Shadowless," agreed the Keyblade Master. She charged forwards and struck with Nightshade.

The burning figure stumbled back, screeching in pain, the lashed back at her, knocking her away with one flaring arm.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" shouted Arc. The Shadowless turned just in time to take Arc's sheild full in the face. "Hah!"

Unfortunately, this did not seem to be a crippling blow like it would have been to a human. Instead, it just reached out and grabbed his arm, then threw him away. He landed hard and slid across the stone paved floor.

"Blizzara!" shouted Montblanc. Freezing wind filled with icy shards flew out from him at the Shadowless. It shrieked in pain, but did not seem all that harmed.

"You can't toss me around!" shouted Arc, running up for a second bout. He swung with his sword, and the Shadowless burst apart, practically before he even touched it. "Hah, you aren't so tough."

Then all the fragments of burning flame came back together around him, engulfing him in burning light.

Arc screamed in pain as it seared his flesh with the blinding, unnatural fires.

"Get offa him!" cried Orchid. "Nightmare!"

Inky dark shapes with fluttering wings descended from the night sky, engulfing the Shadowless and Arc in a stain as black as sin, then bursting apart, tearing at the white flames. Arc stumbled away and collapsed on the ground as the light struggled with the dark. The spell ended, and the burning flames of light come back together into the Shadowless, which loudly screeched its anger at them.

"You stay away from my friends!" raged Orchid as she charged at it.

"Orchid, what's happening?" shouted a voice. It was Sora, running in from the Second district door, followed down the stairs by a blonde-haired man carrying an enormous sword.

"Now, go away!" yelled the girl, ignoring the newcomers as she swung the keyblade.

The Shadowless roared, and moved to block. But then its head turned at the last instant, and it stared at the figures that had just turned the corner from coming down the stairs, and its bright burning eyes grew wide.

The keyblade struck, and there was an explosion of energy, but Orchid managed to hold on and keep from being blown back. The white flames faded and flickered as they were sucked into the vortex, siphoned into the Nightshade. The light disappeared faster than she thought they would.

When they were gone, a figure that had not been there before stood unsteadily, weakly holding her ground.

"C...Cloud..." she gasped before falling to the ground.

"Aerith!" shouted Cloud as he ran up with Sora. "Oh, my god, it's really you."

"Yes," she whispered softly, then closed her eyes.

Silent tears fell from sad, blue eyes, gently landing on her tired, yet calm face. He had found his light.

-

"Well, it appears that she's going to be alright," said Merlin as he closed the green room door behind him. "She'll need to rest for a while, and she'll probably be very confused at first, but I don't think there's anything to really worry about."

Cloud nodded numbly, but gave a sigh of relief.

"Wow...never thought that'd happen," said Arc quietly as the trio walked away to leave the man alone.

"Who was that?" asked Orchid.

"That was Aerith," he explained. "She and Cloud were, well, y'know... together. They got torn apart during the first crisis of the Heartless, but finally got together after Sora fixed everything. She's the one he went to look for when we left him in Seventh Heaven."

"Oh...I get it," she said. "So how did she turn into a Shadowless?"

"We can't know for sure, until she tells her story," said Merlin, walking up beside them. "But I can probably take a guess at it, knowing who she is and what she's like."

"So what do you think happened, kupo?" asked Montblanc.

"I'm guessing that, most likely, when they were seperated, she was very lonely, lost and afraid," answered the wizard. "She is of a very kind and caring nature. Chances are, her avarice towards the dark, combined with her will to help, and be good, and everything the dark isn't, led to her becoming Shadowless. The loss of Cloud and some sort of security was probably the catalyst for turning her from a good samaratin to a mindless being of light."

"Oh," said Orchid, absently swinging the keyblade.

"Woah, Orchid, it changed!" shouted Arc suddenly, pointing frantically at the keyblade.

"What? Oh, my god, you're right!"

What had once been the dark and sinister Nightshade was now replaced by a work of abject beauty. The keyblade pulsed a vibrant green with its lush, living vines that made up the haft, the handle and the hand guards. Razor sharp leaves, thin and vividly green spiked the outside of the guards. But the most amazing thing was the end. Where the dark bloom of Nightshade had been, now was a rose, esquisite and crystal clear, as if made of glass. It was beautiful and perfect in all aspects.

"Glass Rose," whispered Orchid reverentially as they stared in awe.

"It must have been from absorbing the Shadowless essence off of Aerith," said Arc.

"I guess," she agreed.

"Kupopo...but wait," interrupted Montblanc. "If... it just changed, this means it's the next _natural_ level of it, right? So there's no keychain on it."

"Yeah, there isn't," said Orchid, raising up the keyblade and showing the empty loop at near end.

"So doesn't that mean the keychain for Nightshade dropped off back in Third District, kupo?" reasoned the moogle.

"Oh, crap, you're right!" she shouted, taking off into a sprint out the hotel door. "Augh, I can't lose that!"

"Hahaha, some Keyblade Master you are," laughed Arc as he chased after her.

Merlin smiled as he watched the trio go. It was so refreshing to see such frivolity in these serious, gloomy times.

-

"Maaan...we've been searching for hours..."

"Maybe someone picked it up, kupo?"

"Hey, Arc, why don't you actually help instead of... hey, what's that in your hand?"

"Huh? What're you talking about?"

"I saw you just shove it in your pocket!"

"You must be hallucinating."

"You dirty-"

"Hey, hey, hey, is that anyway to talk to the guy who found what you lost?"

"You've been sitting there for hours while we broke our backs scrounging on the ground for it! Damn it, how could you let us do that!"

"Eh... you looked like you were having fun."

"Fun!? Do these scraped up knees look like fun to you? Now give it to me!"

"What's the magic word?"

"Give it to me or I'll kill you!"

"That's four words."

"Shut up!"

"I bet dinner's cold by now, kupo..."


	44. A Long Walk up to Heaven

Yaaay....we're actually progressing somewhere. And people are joining my RP. Woot. Yeah, Carbuncle will basically make a barrier/healing thing for a limited time. Or somesuch. Welp, time for the last world before Hollow Bastion.

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- - -

"Old bear," said Eriks as he opened the door. "Elias says it time for you to get moving. You're the Gatekeeper, right?"  
"And?" asked the druid, cracking an eye open to stare at the boy. "What's your point, cub?"

"The Keyblade Master is heading for the gates, he says," smirked the boy. "So shouldn't you go keep them?"

"Hmm...very funny," said the man drily as he got up. "So they've already gotten to the Stairwell, have they?"

"Yeah," shrugged Eriks. "It's the only way in, and they've gotten through everything else."

"I see," he said, picking up his wooden mace. "Tell him that I'll be leaving as soon as I can."

"Sure," waved Eriks as he walked out of the room. The boy had changed quite a lot since he had arrived, Stromwind reflected. At first he had been gentle, quietly strong, but uncertain of himself. Now he was confident, not exactly cocky or arrogant, but he carried that upright sort of smug superiority about him, the kind that you don't need to show off, because you _know_ you're good, and you don't care if others do. Stromwind wasn't sure if this was a pleasing turn of nature or not.

He gathered what few things he felt he might need, then left. Soon he was walking down the empty halls of the Hollow Bastion towards the entry hall. He was opening the great double doors when he heard the voice.

"Stromwind," said Elias, standing on the landing up the stairs. "I've got some companions to help you. They're already at the waypoint."

"I work alone," rumbled the druid deeply.

"They'll just be along to keep the lower floors. They might destroy them. They might not. You're there to make sure that even if they don't, the girl doesn't surive. We can't have her interfering with the Master's plans."

"How near is he to opening the door?" asked Stromwind.

"Very close," assured Elias. "There is only one Princess left. And he says that we also have enough power from the worlds to do it now, even with those ones that the Flower of Arcadia sealed. We have located the last girl, so it is only a matter of retrieving her."

"So it's finally here," said the big man with certain satisfaction.

"Yes... he also said something about a 'host'... though I do not know of what he speaks," said Elias, his normally emotionless half a face looking slightly worried for a second. It soon resumed its mask like expressiveness.

"I might," said Stromwind quietly as he turned and opened the doors to leave. "Just remember, Daemonwing, that it was _his_ idea to have the boy be trained as an apprentice."

"So, we're finally here."

Arc had been quiet ever since they started their journey to the next world. These few words, spoken in solemn calmness, startled Orchid and Montblanc, who had been just getting used to the near silence of the gummi ship.

"What? What are you talking about?" said the girl, all in a rush. "Do you know about this place?"

"Yeah," he said quietly, tinted lenses hiding his eyes. "This place is the gates of Hollow Bastion. The Stairwell of Heaven."

"What? Sora never said anythi-" started Orchid before he cut her off.

"That's because it wasn't around then," explained the man. "Soon after the first incident with the Heartless, we warped the roads of space that the ships follow. We forced every waypoint, every highway, every warp jump that headed for Hollow Bastion to go here first. Anyone trying to get there, has to get through here. The top of the tower holds the seal for closing off all access to Hollow Bastion. We thought we were making protection for us. But we were really just making our own prison." He sighed, then continued. "A lot more people would have gotten out and survived the attack when it came, if only we had had other escape routes. But it was one way in, one way out. And now that they control it, our impenatrable gate is _their_ impenatrable gate."

"Wait, wait," interrupted Orchid. "If there was only one way in, and you had this gate, then how did the Heartless get in?"

"They came from...another way. A way that we never thought anyone would come out of. A way that most didn't even know about, a way that we thought was gone," said Arc grimly. "They came out of the door, the one Ansem had opened and Sora had shut. They came from that long gone world, that land of desolation that these monsters spawn from, out the door that had once been sealed. Someone had opened the door."

"Elias," said Orchid.

"No...not Elias," said Arc. "There's someone behind him. He may be powerful, but... I don't think he's running things."

"If you say so..." shrugged Orchid doubtfully. And then it towered before her, and they were there.

The massive double doors opened slowly, moving like mountains. There was a resounding clang as they came to a halt. They walked into the silent, empty halls. They were grandly designed, with high pillars and ornate carvings. But only flickering candles lighted the way, here and there, and the place felt like a broken down palace.

"Hey, Montblanc, you think you could give us some light?" asked Arc as he tripped over yet another bit of fallen masonry.

"Sure, kupo," said the moogle. He waved his rod and held it before him. It flickered feebly for an instant, then went out. He shook it again, and this time it didn't even light up a little.

"What's wrong?" asked the man.

"Orchid, could you try a spell, kupo?" asked the moogle, looking puzzled and frowning in concern.

"Uh, okay..." she said. She pointed the Glass Rose at an unsuspecting column, then cast her spell. "Fira!"

Nothing happened.

"As I though," said Montblanc. "Someone's sealed all the magic in this place, kupo. I don't know how, since it would take an enormous amount of power, and I don't think even Elias has enough to seal a whole world, kupo."

"He doesn't," said Arc. "But this place does."

"What do you mean?" asked Orchid.

"This whole place is practically a fountain of magic," he explained. "If someone got here before us, and I expect they knew we were coming, then they could have just channeled all that energy into one continous sealing spell. None of our black or white magic will work as long as the spell's in place."

"Well, then I'm gonna go back and keep watch on the gummi ship, kupo," sighed Montblanc, turning and heading back. "I can't do _anything_ without my magic."

"Well... then I guess it's just us," said Arc grimly.

"Damn," cursed Orchid quietly. "We're gonna have a real tough time without Montblanc."

A shadow crept stealthily up the stairs, along the floor. It popped up off the ground, antenna wiggling, eyes glowing.

"And?" said Stromwind, cracking an eye open to stare at the Heartless. He was sitting in the center of the magic circle that he had drawn to seal the world. He waited quietly as the Heartless chattered silently. "As planned, the mage has left. Good. Make sure the next part goes as smoothly."

The Heartless swayed from side to side a little, then communicated something more.

"Yes," said the druid slowly, closing his eyes again and returning to his meditation. "You may devour him."

"I hope Montblanc will be okay," worried Orchid as they stumbled through the gloomy halls.

"Ah, he'll be fine," said Arc. "We've got ourselves to worry about."

He was right. They had already encountered a few Heartless. But they had been mere patrols, and taken care of easily enough. Something wasn't right. It was all so empty.

"It's like...like..." muttered Orchid, trying to work out the feeling that persisted in bothering her. As she walked and thought, there was a sudden click as her foot stepped on something. "Like..."

"..a trap!" shouted Arc. He quickly shoved her to the side and jumped away from her as the bars slammed up from the ground between them. The metal dug into the ceiling, simultaneously cutting them off from eachother, and from any escape. "Crap!"

Orchid swung at the bars with the keyblade, with no effect. Arc tried his best to muscle a gap in the bars, but they didn't budge even in the slightest.

"Okay..." said Orchid, pantings slightly from their efforts to break the barrier. "I guess... we'll just have to play it their way."

"Great...first they got rid of Montblanc and your magic, and now they've got us seperated," said Arc, cursing softly. "We fell right into this."

"No choice but to go on," said the girl.

"Yeah," he agreed.  
"See you at the top."

Montblanc was starting to get nervous. The thoughts of all the things that could go wrong in there, with neither him nor his magic to help them, gnawed away at his mind. He was about to try and think of something else, when something caused the gummi ship to rock precariously. Wondering what it was, he hopped down off the chair and walked over to the door. Using his rod, he pressed the button to open it, and it slid open easily.

There was nothing there.

Curious, he got out and walked around the craft. There didn't seem to be anything around, nor any sign of something that might have caused it to rock so. Shrugging, he turned to go back inside.

That was when he saw the eyes. The hungry, glowing yellow orbs.

"Kupo..."

Arc walked cautiously up the stairs, jumping at the slightest noise and swinging his sword. Several times, this paranoia saved him from sneak attacking Heartless. But there were few of these, and the venture up the stairs was mostly uninterrupted. He estimated he was nearing the upper levels when he came upon a large, open room. Walking inside slowly, he looked about. It was empty.

Then something moved.

Jumping back, he watched as shadowed darkness gathered in a puddle in the middle of the floor. It moved upwards, taking form swiftly, and silently. When it was done, it stood as tall as Arc, with long, inky-black flowing hair. Its back was turned, hiding its face and front. Even in the gloom, the figure was familiar.

"It can't be..." whispered Arc. "...Dar'ck?"

It turned, and hissed at him, displaying a jagged mouth and eyes, glowing and hungering.

Orchid was stunned. He stood there in the dark, by himself. In his hand, she could see the keyblade. The figure, silhouetted by the single candle that lit the room, stood silently, his back to her. From the spiky hair to the overly large shoes, he was unmistakable.

"Sora?" she said quietly. "Is that you? What are you doing here?"

He turned. It was not Sora.

The Heartless stared silently at her, then the battle began.


	45. Shadow Battle

Wootah: On with the Anti-battles! This chapter is entirely fighting, as is the next one. Good stuff, eh? Then it's on to HB. My brother's Eagle Ceremony is tomorrow. Anyways, I can't wait to do the next chappie, since I've known its uber-cool ending almost since I first came up with Stromwind and the Windgates. Welp, read and review, everyone!

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-

The Heartless, a vague imitation of his brother in form only, hissed at Arc, then leapt forwards, wicked night-black claws extended.

He parried with his sword, then shoved, throwing the Anti-Dar'ck back. It landly lightly, then sprung forwards again, catching him by surprise. Arc reeled back as claws slashed at his shirt, leaving bloody red gashes. Quickly recovering, he swung with his right, his shield catching the Heartless in the head, slamming it to the floor. It hit the ground wetly, splashing like water into a dark puddle which quickly dispersed.

"Where'd it go?" he said, looking about in the half-lit gloom. Something stirred to his right, and he jumped to face it. There was nothing. "Crap..."

Something grabbed his leg, and jumped backwards. He slashed at the tentacle of shadow with Sequence as it groped blindly after him. It dispersed, but was soon followed by others. They tore at his legs slickly, leaving a cold, numbing sensation where they touched him. He stumbled back away from the swaying arms, tearing his legs out of their grasp and slashing wildly with his sword.

"Damn..." he cursed as his back tapped against the wall behind him.

A tentacle split at its end, forming fingers until it was a hand, soon followed by others, which merged with it. They came twisting together before him, hands becoming fingers, arms becoming a hand. The giant shadow hand, almost as big as Arc, reared back, then swung forwards to crush him.

"Back off!" he shouted, swinging Sequence. The sword cut deeply into the offending limb, which reared back in pain. He smashed it with his other hand before it could recover from the first blow, then raised his sword arm back to finish it off.

He felt his arm go numb as tendrils of darkness encircled it, coming from the gloom of the wall behind him.

"Oh..." he whispered softly as he looked up at his arm, entangled in the essence of the Heartless. He gasped as dark coils encircled his throat, pulling him back. His body pressed against the wall as the dark arms wrapped around him, strangling him, crushing him against the cold stone with their even colder grip. His entire body felt numb, empty.

The hand of darkness flowed and morphed, standing taller. Soon, the Dar'ck shaped Heartless stood before him, watching hungrily as he slowly died.

-

"You're not Sora!" shouted Orchid as she struck with the keyblade. The Heartless parried easily with its own shadow of a keyblade, and they bothed watched each other warily. The Anti-Sora blinked coldly, then sunk into the floor. "What?"

She watched warily as it skittered around on the floor like a shadow, zig-zagging this way and that. She turned quickly as it went around her, then jumped in surprise as it charged right at her. She landed lightly just as it went under her, turning just in time to watch it spring up from the floor, dark keyblade swinging.

Orchid cried out in pain as the blade struck her in the shoulder, leaving it cold and numb as she dodged back. The Heartless walked slowly towards her, then shifted strangly, seeming to blur before her.

"What the...?"

Suddenly, multiple images of the dark keyblade weilding boy were before her, walking in all different directions. Confused, she lunged and swung at the one heading towards her. The Glass Rose passed through like it was smoke, and it disappeared instantly. She hesitated for a second in surprise, then stumbled forwards as she was hit in the back. Turning, she faced the two Heartless there. They both split, going opposite directions, curving to attack her in a pincer movement. Choosing one, she headed off to the left, and struck at that one. Their blades met, then the shadows parted before her, nothing more than an illusion. Cursing under her breath, she turned just in time to block and be knocked back by the other shadow of Sora.

She was about to charge it, when it puddled into the ground again. It and the three remaining shadows shuffled around her, moving erratically, and despite her best efforts, causing her to lose track of the real one. They came up again, surrounding here, one in each of the four directions. She turned, trying to decide which one was real, pivoting uncertainly. She was unprepared when they all rushed her.

Four blades connected, and she screamed in cold, numbing agony.

-

It was so cold. Yet, that just made everything crisper, clearer for him. It was all laid out before him with clarity like he had never seen with before. It was useless. All of this struggle was useless. Everything started in darkness; everything would end in darkness. That's just the way it was. He could see it clearly. Why couldn't he before? Why did he think he had to fight before?

Arc struggled in his mind to remember what it was all for. Why had he been fighting? This journey... all it had gained him was bruises and hurts, wounds and pains. Nothing but pain. If he fought now, he would just hurt more. And for what? So he could continue living? Continue hurting? It wasn't worth it.

Something shook inside of him, there in the darkness. This wasn't right. He had been fighting for a reason. That reason was... that it was right. That he was helping people. That he made them happy, saved them. People like... his friends. Orchid. Montblanc. Squall, Zell, Cloud, Aerith, even Yuffie and Rikku. People like Ricksen, and Melina. Like his brother Dar'ck. Like Jenine.

Jenine.

Her smile. The way she was always smiling about every little thing. How she was always tinkering with things, curious to know what made them tick. Her fascination with how things worked. How she enjoyed the life of things, even things that weren't alive. How she enjoyed life. And that she loved him.

He remembered the soft brush of her lips against his.

"No!" he screamed. Darkness shattered around him, like nightmares in the morning sun. The Heartless dodged back quickly, narrowly avoiding his sword swing as he broke free of his draining prison of depression. Fractured shadow arms pulled back into the gloom of the walls, sliding around to return to their master, which watched cautiously, hissing at the man in frustration and open hatred. Arc stepped forwards slowly, pushing his tinted lenses up over his eyes. "Nice try. But not good enough."

He leaped up into the air, then came down hard, shield first. The Heartless dodged out of the way, but not before he caught it in the arm with Sequence. It hissed angrily, then slashed at him wildly, forcing him back and giving him several nasty cuts. He blocked the next few blows with his shield, then faked a punch with it and caught the Heartless with the sword again. It opened its jagged mouth, then opened it more than it should have been able to, its mouth becoming its whole body. Then the Heartless lunged forwards at him, engulfing him in its darkness.

The dark mass was still. Then it shifted slightly. There was a shaking.

"Not gonna work again!" yelled Arc, bursting out of the Heartless suddenly. The pieces of darkness scattered about, quickly gathering back into the Anti-Dar'ck. Arc stood there, breathing heavily and wiping a little blood off the corner of his mouth as he eyed the Heartless angrily. He spat red on the floor, then snarled, "Okay. Let's go, punk."

-

Orchid's body twisted and fell limply to the floor, her legs giving out beneath her. Propping herself on one arm, she couged wetly, then got unsteadily to her feet, cautiously eyeing the four Heartless. Swaying a little, she swung the keyblade in front of her, the Glass Rose slicing swiftly through the air.

"Well," she said, holding the blade confidently in front of her, "if I can't tell which one of you is the real one... Then I guess I'll just attack all of you!"

She swung the keyblade to the side, going into a crouch as she faced the shadow before her.

"Moonlight Rave!"

She sped forwards, quickly blurring out of sight. She appeared immediatly behind the Heartless, turning gracefully, pivoting on one foot with keyblade held lightly in one hand, as if part of a dance.

"Step!"  
She blurred again in the direction of the next Anti-Sora. It stumbled as the Glass Rose struck it, and she appeared behind it.

"Step! Step! Step!"

In quick succession, she continued her path around, striking the other two shadows, and finishing in the center of the room, where she started. As she turned lightly on her feet, the shadows parted, and only one Heartless was left.

"Finale!"

She blurred out again, and explosions rang out about the dark figure. Dark essence spattered in the air, only to be sucked into the keyblade as it passed. But when she turned, it was still there. Standing there, eyeing her coldly.

"Well...now I know which one's it," she grinned. Then she lunged again.

-

"Planet Diver!"

Unnatural flames burst out around Arc as he came slamming down on the Heartless. It burst apart into inky darkness, then formed spikes in the air, and came slamming back. He grunted in pain as they cut into him, then jumped back, clutching his side with his right and weilding his sword in his left.

"That the best you can do?" he taunted.

The shadows became a Heartless again, long haired and staring. It hissed from its jagged mouth, then darkness slid across the floor from its feet, lashing up from the ground in front of Arc. He cut at the dark tentacles, then charged forwards. He jumped to the side as it lashed out at him with its claws. It jumped back out of the way of his counterattack, then raised its hand before it.

Dark arms came pouring from the ground, reachind out to grab Arc. He shuffled back, but the arms extended. One caught his ankle, and he slashed free from it with his sword, but another got his leg, then another and another. He cut wildly at the hands, but they continued to multiply and lengthen, grasping him, encircling him. He gasped as one started crushing his throat, the cold numbness spreading through out his body. Struggling to move, he did his best to break free, but their grip was too strong.

He watched as the Heartless's hand, still raised before it, slowly closed. The shadow hands gripping him melded back into the single giant hand, slowly crushing his body in its grasp. He tried to wriggle free, but it was no use.

Then, with one decisive movement, the Anti-Dar'ck, the shadow of his brother, slammed its clawed fist closed.

Arc's head lashed back as he screamed in agony, the shadows closing in with monumental force, crushing his body, his soul, his very being. The darkness exploded around him, then returned to its master, leaving him limp and broken on the floor.

The Heartless smiled a wide, jagged grin. Finally, it would sate its hunger.

It walked slowly over to the motionless figure. It stood over him, watching the blood ooze out from underneath the body. Then it slowly bent over, reaching one clawed hand down to pick its meal up.

A hand, cold and mechanical, shot up and grabbed its wrist.

Arc grinned up at it through the blood that stained his face. The shadow hardly had time to react before it found itself being turned and flung over his body, landing hard on its back. It quickly scrambled to its feet, only to find a sword point at its throat.

"Checkmate."

-

Orchid blocked the attack, then counterattacked, hitting the Heartless in the side. It winced, then dodged back, shadow keyblade held before it. It started to warp and blur then.

"Oh, no you don't!" shouted the girl. She ran forwards and quickly attacked the Anti-Sora, destroying the illusions as soon as it created them. The Heartless sank into the floor, then skittered around her, then straight under. Expecting this, the girl was already turning when it passed, and blocked as it leapt out of the ground and attacked. What she didn't expect was this one to be a shadow illusion, and the real one to appear behind her. "Damn-!"

She hit floor hard, struck in the back. Scrambling to her feet, she barely managed to block the flurry of strikes that came next. In a slight pause, she pushed forwards and started her own series of strikes. The Heartless dodged back, trailing shadows that blocked her, then melted like smoke, surrounding and moving erratically as the Anti-Sora attempted to lose her in a maze of clones. She was so busy cutting through the swathe of images that she almost missed it when the real one dodged around and entered the crowd of itself. Wary, she jumped back as one of the shadows struck, then dodged as another did also. She blocked the next strike, then, taking a risk, turned and let the next one attack her back. The blade passed through her, only an illusion. This move bought her the time needed to bring up the keyblade and block the next strike.

There was a resounding clang, and all of the shadows disappeared, leaving one set of glowing eyes glowering at her from behind its blade. The Heartless pushed, trying to break her guard, and she let it forwards until she was sure it was over extended, then suddenly pushed back, sending it stumbling backwards from her.

"Now!" she yelled, charging at it while it tried to regain its balance. "Meteor barrage!"  
The rose of her keyblade burst into color, trailing the fires like the tail of a comet as she struck. The Heartless staggered from the blow, unable to block in time.

"Slam!"

She struck again, this time from the other side, catching the Heartless in the jaw.

"Slam!"

This blow went downwards, catching the shadow on top of the head, sending it stumbling.

"Slam, slam, slam!"

She struck three more blows, the last one an uppercut, sending the Heartless flying into the air. She leaped up after it, hovering above it for a second as she readied the now power-infused keyblade.

"Apocalypse!"  
Energy charged around the blade, then she was slamming downwards, straight through the helpless figure of darkness. The very tower shook with her impact as she hit the floor, the Heartless exploding into darkness behind her. The inky particles hung in the air for a second, then were sucked irresistably down into the keyblade.

"Now...who's at the top?" she asked quietly as she stood and started walking towards the stairs.

-

The Heartless made to move back and meld into the gloom again, but Arc lunged forwards and quickly struck.

"Clockwork Dragon!"  
His arms blurred blue with the essence of time, then his blade and mechanical hand snaked out like striking serpents, catching the Anti-Dar'ck square in the chest. It stumbled back as blow after blow rained down on it, faster than any human could possibly strike. Hissing high enough almost to the point of shrieking, it covered its head with its darkly clawed hands, unable to stop the attacks slamming down on it.

"Wings of the Dragon, fly into the Azure Sky!"

The was a burst of darkness as he struck, and explosions rang out all around him. Dark globules of liquid squirted through the air as wounds barely held shut burst open with the force and stress of this last move. Arc collapsed on the ground in a mist of his own blood, landing hard on the stone.

"Well...I guess it's up to you now, little bud," he said softly. Then he closed his eyes, and gentle quiet enveloped him in soft, welcoming darkness.

-

"That's better," said Orchid as she tossed the empty bottle behind her and continued up the stairs. The hi-potion had taken care of most of the wounds she had endured during the last fight. She wondered how Arc was doing, and if he was already at the top. She got her answer fairly soon when she stepped out onto the roof of the tower, empty save for one man. He stood in the middle of a complex series of designs, a large wooden mace, tall enough to be a staff, held lightly in one hand. He was clothed in boots and leather pants, and nothing else excepting a bearskin, its arms draped over his shoulders and chest. He was large and well muscled, and his blocky jaw sported a light beard. His long, dirty blonde hair spiked back wildly, and his eyes were cold and dangerous. He cast no shadow, there under the starlit sky.

"Welcome, young Keyblade Master," he said quietly.

"Open the gates," she said.

"You mean bring down the barrier that prevents you from invading our stronghold?" he asked. He laughed, a rough, barking thing. "I gave your intelligence more credit than that, Flower of Arcadia. You know as well as I do that the only way that barrier is going down is if you fight me, and win. And you won't win."

"And why not?" she asked.

"Because nearly half your strength is your magic," the man explained. "And I've sealed all of it here. But all of my powers work fine. Nothing can seal the Windgates. You will die by their fury."

"The what?" said Orchid, bewildered. "Who are you?"

"I am Stromwind," said the druid. "And I am the last person you shall ever see."


	46. The 7th Windgate

Oh, yeah: Behold the awesomeness. I told Katie about it, and she said it was awesome, how I planned to end it. And it is. Here you go, one chapter chock full of fight. Unleash the Windgates! Yeah, Stromwind is my favorite character out of all the badguys. Eriks and December don't really count as bad guys. To respond to reviewers, I have to say that Stromwind is an OC. I have never had InuYasha stuff in my fic. And I'm glad that someone else thought the line about the dirty mags was really funny too. Lastly, anyone who thought Arc went through a lot of pain, well... let's just say that Orchid got off easy with the Anti-Sora because she's about to take her beating from Stromwind. This is the most pain I've ever written into one chapter.

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-

It was at that time, that Arc, battered, bruised and bloody, stumbled to his feet, and dragged himself to the stairs upwards, trailing red behind him. As he reached the stairs, he fell down, and promptly became unconscious. This process would be repeated for the next part of an hour, until he reached the top.

-

It was also at this time, that Montblanc, considerably less battered, bruised and bloody, paced about the cabin of the gummi ship, considering his next move. He did not notice the two glowing yellow eyes amidst the shadows in the back of the ship.

-

"Now you shall die, Flower of Arcadia," said Stromwind. He raised his mace before him, and a magic circle appeared in the air as he started chanting.

"I won't!" she shouted as she ran up. She swung with the keyblade, but he easily blocked with one arm, then sent her flying back with a blow from his mace. She landed hard, skidding across the stones of the tower. He completed his incantations as she got to her feet and took a step forwards.

"I summon the 1st Windgate, Kjellnor, the Burning Wind!" he called. The sign before him split down the center, then opened unto its fury.

Fires unlike any Orchid had every seen burst out from the gate, consuming all about her. They raged like uncontrolled tempers, swirling and burning all that they touched.

She dodged and rolled out of the way as quickly as she could, but her skin still burned, turning red and feeling raw. Her clothes smelled singed, but she had avoided anything more than superficial wounds.

"Moonlight Rave!" she called out, blurring out of sight. Stromwind winced in pain as the Glass Rose struck him and he turned just in time to watch her pause gracefully, then blur out once more. "Step!"

The next blow hit him in the side. He turned quickly, his eyes glinting coldly at her as she momentarily blurred into view.

"Step!"

The moment she moved, he swung his mace sideways so that he held it horizontal, parallel to the ground, a good length of it sticking out to either side of him. He grinned smugly, then grunted a little as he was struck in the side again and sent off balance as something ran into his mace. He watched with satisfaction as the young girl went skidding across the floor hard.

"All flash and no brains," he observed. "I knew you'd have to pass close enough to hit me. And my staff has a far longer reach than your blade. So I just had to stand there and let you clothesline yourself, foolish girl."

Orchid growled lowly and cursed at the insult as she got to her feet again. She charged him again in rage, and he easily leveled her with a deft swing of his mace, though not before he was struck with the keyblade.

"You're persistant," he said as he started chanting and drawing the magic circle before him.

It was done and flashed a bright blue as she got to her feet. She held the keyblade before her, unsure of what to expect.

"I summon the 2nd Windgate, Korshana, the Freezing Wind!"

The runes split down the center as the symbol had done previously, but this time when it opened, instead of blazing fires, freezing wind came howling out, harsher than any blizzard and easily more powerful than any spell Orchid knew. She could feel her eyes freezing shut as she closed them against the biting cold, and when she tried to move, her feet stuck to the ground. Pain prickled her flesh as ice frosted over her arms and legs. When she finally felt it stop, she could no longer move, and her limbs were already going numb.

"To think you could beat Vins...pathetic," said the druid as he walked over. "Gali and Garn, I could believe. But I had more respect for Vins."

He swund his mace hard, and the ice shattered. Orchid went tumbling back, almost to the edge of the tower amidst shards of ice. She got unsteadily to her feet, not sure if the pain in her chest was a broken rib or not. She readied herself as the man walked over to her. Then, as Stromwind stood before her, she ducked his blow as he swung, surprising him and coming up to strike him in the jaw with the keyblade. The man stumbled back, then took several more blows before his equilibrium was regained and he managed to block her. He sent the girl flying again with another blow of his mace. He was already summoning the next gate by the time she managed to shake off the dizzy feeling in her head and stand up.

"I summon the 3rd Windgate, Elemtii, the Purging Wind!"

Orchid screamed in pain as every nerve in her body was set afire. Lightning crackled through the dry starlit air, and the girls body writhed in agony as she hit the ground, electricity racking her every cell with its power. She lay there, gasping on the floor and sizzling slightly as it ended, eyes wide and too shocked to cry.

"Don't worry...it'll soon be over," said the druid, almost sadly as he walked over to her. He stood above her, mace raised to deliver the final blow.

"When I win!" shouted Orchid. The keyblade slammed hard into the man's shins, and he stumbled back, cursing loudly. Pushing to her feet, she quickly struck him again and again to cover herself as she got back up. Her final blow sent him reeling back, and when he spat, it was red against the cold, white stone.

"You are...amazingly strong," he admitted. "I see why you have managed to stand against us this long. But it is no matter. Endurance can only hold out for so long."

He started walking backwards as he chanted and signaled. Orchid charged forwards, but it was already too late by the time she got close. Instead of cutting him off, she only made it easier for him to hit her.

"I summon the 4th Windgate, Barshinae, the Exploding Wind!"

The seal opened, and there was a rush of wind about her. Then the explosions started. Orchid's ears rang with the noise and her body was tossed this way and that like a ragdoll paper in a hurricane by the massive concussive forces going off around her. She could practically feel her bones starting to break as she was thrown from one explosion into another. There was a sickening snap as it ended and she landed hard on her left arm. She screamed in pain and curled up on the ground, her entire limb aflame with agony like she had never felt before. When she looked, through watery eyes, she could see that her arm bent where there wasn't a joint, just a little above her elbow.

"Had enough?" he asked as she glared at him angrily. He walked over slowly, his staff clicking against the tiles loudly in the silent air. "I'm surprised you're still alive. Most people would've been ripped apart. But even in the midst of such chaos, you still managed to dodge all the fatal blows, even if it was only subconsciously. I'm impressed."

"Impressed, my ass!" she shouted, spring up suddenly and swinging the keyblade. The druid dodged back, having learned from his last experience. Orchid stood, angrily eyeing him with her left arm hanging limply by her side. She cocked her sword arm, then threw. "Shooting Star!"

The Glass Rose went flying, and not expecting the long range attack, Stromwind was struck in the head by the first blow.

"Strike!"

He managed to block it this time, though the keyblade still packed a lot of force and went spinning back to her hand, no momentum lost.

"Strike!"

One huge paw of a hand shot up and grasped the haft as it flew towards him. Orchid stared in stunned disbelief as he held the keyblade, caught as easily as an underhand toss. She concentrated, which was hard with all the pain from the burns, both fire and freeze inflicted, the broken arm, and the general nervous paralysis. The keyblade shimmered in the Shadowless's hand, then disappeared, reappearing in its master's grip.

"I summon the 5th Windgate, Charostor, the Darkness Wind!" called the druid, having been chanting the incantations while she retrieved her blade.

"I think..." started Orchid, staring at something glimmering. Then the seal opened, and wind as black as sin came pouring out like the river of the damned.

Darkness engulfed her, and shrieking winds howled like lost souls around her. Terror like she had never felt before, irrational and filling all her attention, tore at her mind, and she screamed in pain, confusion, and fear. Things tore at her arms, not just wind things, dark things, but things of nightmare, clawed things, fanged things, things that tore her open and drank her blood as it fell. She fell to the ground, and curled up in a ball, begging for it to stop, a little girl crying for her mother, crying for Eriks, crying for a father she hadn't seen in years. For anyone, anyone who could make it go away.

Then it was over, and she was a young teenager again, lying on an ivory tower beneath a starlit sky.

"I am truly sorry," said a voice. As her senses started coming back, she recognized it as Stromwind's. "But I cannot let you interfere with the Master's plans. If only you had let go within the first four gates..."

He shook his head sadly, then started chanting again. Another magic circle formed in front of him, and Orchid watched carefully, even in her stunned state, watching for that little glimmer she had seen before. She didn't try to rise, but merely curled up more, hoping she could survive what would come next, and maybe make it hurt less.

It didn't.

"I summon the 6th Windgate, Alavastier, the Light Wind!" he shouted. The seal opened with a blinding white light and there was searing pain, pure and simple, for Orchid. She screamed and closed her eyes, but the light painted the insides of her lids bright white anyways, and her flesh felt like it was burning. She writhed in agony, too pained to even notice when she rolled over her broken arm in her suffering. The light was all-encompassing, and there was no escape from it. It was not terrifying. It was not malicious. It merely was, in that same cold way that the Shadowless merely were.

Then it was over, and she was gasping, fighting to stay conscious, to stay alive. But despite what the pain she felt, she smiled, secretly and subtly, in a way the man could not see. She had seen it. She knew how to end this.

"Never, in all my years, have I ever met someone who could survive six Windgates," commended Stromwind. "You are a most worthy adversary."

He watched in amazement as the girl stumbled to her feet, then started walking slowly towards him. Her body swayed and her back was hunched, but still she held the will in her to fight. She stumbled up close, then lashed out with the keyblade. He blocked easily, then knocked her away with his mace. She fell back onto the stones and he sighed and moved to go to her. But the she stirred. And she got up again. And stumbled forwards once more, that determined look smoldering in her eyes. She struck again, even more feeble than the last, and he blocked it with his arm, barely feeling the blow, and knocked her away with an easy backhand. Stumbling back, the girl regained her balance, but swayed unsteadily. Despite all this, she stepped forwards again, then swung with the keyblade. Not even moving to block, the druid let it hit him in the chest. The blade bounced off ineffectually, the force behind it pathetically weak. He watched sadly as she struck at him, blow after worthless blow, not even with enough force to raise a bruise.

"I am very sorry... but I have to end this now," he said, raising his mace. It was when he was about to bring it down that she surprised him.

"Then don't do it!" she yelled, suddenly staring at him with flaring intensity. She swung the keyblade back, then forwards with hidden power she had been holding in reserve. It caught him square in the jaw, as his mace was above his head, to far away to block. "Meteor Barrage!"

Stromwind went stumbling back as he quickly took another blow to the chest.

"Slam!"

The next blow struck him in the side, causing him to wince and almost double over.

"Slam!"

The keyblade came crashing down on his head, and Stromwind reeled back, his head spinning painfully.

"Slam! Slam! Slam!"

She struck three more blows in quick succession, and the last one sent the druid flying upwards into the air. She jumped up above him, the keyblade glowing with power gathered from the previous attacks.

"Apocalypse!"

Orchid came slamming down, the keyblade almost smashing right through him as she hit the ground with an impact that shook the tower from its top to its very foundations. The Shadowless's body hit the floor hard and skidded to a halt as Orchid collapsed on the ground.

He was already standing when she swayed unsteadily to her feet, stepping towards him. He was bleeding from his mouth, and there were several other wounds and bruises across his bare chest and jaw.

"I see... that you are more than I could have possibly imagined," he said, watching as the burned, stunned, broken and battered bloody girl walked limped towards him. He held out his staff before him and started drawing a magic circle before him. "For you, I shall unleash that power long ago fobidden, for I must not fail, no matter what the cost."

He began chanting, and the design took shape before him. The outer circle was filled with complex runes and figures, but the center remained empty, even as it neared completion. Orchid increased her pace as she walked forwards, watching for the glimmer that meant the difference between life, and death.

"I summon the 7th Windgate, Omega, the Oblivion Wind!" roared the druid. The circle completed, then the split of light went down the center of the symbol. As it began to slowly open, Orchid lunged forwards and slammed the keyblade into the glimmer of light she had seen before. The keyhole of the gate.

"What are you doing?" raged Stromwind. The keyblade, all the way past the crystal rose, had disappeared into the magic circle drawn in mid-air, but did not stick out the other side. He watched as Orchid turned the blade, and felt the gate close, sealed against him. "But...how?"

"I'm sorry," said Orchid softly. There were tears in her eyes when she looked at him. She knew what she was about to do, and she knew that she had to do it anyways. She turned the key, and there was a loud click.

Stromwind stared in horror as the line of light cut down through the symbol in front of him. And then slowly, like the footfalls of a giant, the gate swung open. And all of oblivion was loosed.

Orchid did not hear him scream. She did not see him swallowed by the seventh wind. All she saw was nothing. And tears, tears shed for a fate that no one deserved. And then she closed the gate, for what she hoped was the last time that it would ever have to be closed.

-

Arc stumbled heavily onto the roof of the tower. He wandered slowly over to a still form, lying on the ground.

"Orchid...?" he said. She was battered, bloody, bruised and burned. He had never seen her look nearly as bad. "Orchid, are you alright?"

She groaned fitfully as he shook her shoulder gently with one hand.

"What do you want?" she mumbled as she turned and looked up at him. "Where the hell were you?"

"Being dead."

"Oh. I guess that's okay then."

Arc flopped down beside her, and they both sighed.

"So I guess this means you won?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "So how do we get this damnable barrier down?"

"Well... judging from the large explosions... the lack of an enemy... and the fact that the magic seal on the tower has been all but blown away... I say you've already taken care of that," he said.

"Great..." she said. Then she was quiet and started patting herself down. "What the heck? Something vibrating in my pocket..."

"What?" said Arc, sitting up. "You're only fourteen, what are you doing with-!?"

"Oh, here it is," said Orchid, pulling out the keychain for the Clockwork Grape. The little book on a chain, covered in green vines, was shaking like it was about to explode. Suddenly, it did, after a fashion. Purple and red flowers burst out along the vines that covered the tiny book of magic, each beautiful and fragile. They were vibrantly colored, and sparkled in the starlight of the tower.

"A new keychain..." said Arc.

"But why?" asked Orchid.

"I think... since the seal is gone, all the magic is flowing again, and since this seems to be the keychain for magic, it caused it to bloom," reasoned the man. "Well, try it on the keyblade!"

Orchid shrugged, and sat up. Then she called the keyblade to hand, then hooked the new keychain on as soon as the Glass Rose was in her hands. The change was immediate, as always.

The green vibrant haft gained a sparkling texture to it, as if diamonds were mixed in, and the leaves on the handgaurds were replaced by spikes of shining crystal. The glass rose, which had given the last keyblade its name, was now replaced by a vibrantly bright purple flower, hued crimson at the edges of its petal. It sparkled in the center, and when she swung it, it trailed shining, glittering dust.

"Mage Bloom," she said softly. Then she smiled. "Gravija instead of Demi, Stop instead of Slow. Nice."

"Maan, I wish I could get new toys every coupla days," complained Arc.

"Well, I paid an arm and a leg for this," said Orchid, turning so that her broken arm faced him. "Well, part of an arm, at least."

"Oh, my god!" he said, jumping back at the slightly twisted limb. "Does it hurt?"

She glared at him balefully.

"Okay, dumb question," he admitted, raising his hands in surrender. "So do we have to go down to Montblanc?"

"No, I think he's here already," said Orchid, pointing up with her good arm. They watched as the gummi ship came sailing down erratically, finally landing quite roughly on the stones before them. They watched cautiously as the door opened, then jumped to their feet when they saw a Heartless shadow poke its head out.

"Fira!"

The Heartless exploded in a burst of flames and a little moogle, slightly battered and spattered with inky darkness, which soon melted away, came walking out.

"Kupopo... what a rough ride..." he said, shaking his head. "Well, let's get you two on board. I'll get you all fixed up, then we got a castle to crash, right?"

"Yeah..." said Orchid. "Right."

She smiled. Finally, they would get there, close the door, and it would all be done. She'd go home, and she'd get to tell Eriks all about her adventures. That's how it would happen, right?


	47. Fact: People Change

Wahoo, watashi wa kattaze: Woot, first HB chappie up. And EVIL EVIL Eriks. Poor, misled little boy. Yay.  
Notes: An Eagle Ceremony is the Ceremony where a boyscout is awarded his official rank as Eagle Scout. And Stromwind wasn't all that bad a guy. He was genuinely sorry that he had to cause her so much pain to kill her. But next time you see him reincarnated, he's just psychoticly evil. Zombie Druid! Muahahahahaha. Anyways... I'm glad everyone liked the fight scenes. Welp, read and reveiw, kiddos!

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- - -

"So you're back," said Elias.

"Yes," said Eriks quietly.

"And the girl?"

"The seventh Princess of Heart is being brought up now," he said. It had been strange. She hadn't _seemed_ all that much like a princess, unlike some of the others. "So where's the old bear?"

"He was...defeated," said Elias coldly. He turned away from the boy, his long, black hair swishing quietly in the still halls of Hollow Bastion. "The Keyblade Master is coming here as we speak."

"Damn it," cursed Eriks softly. "I was actually kind of fond of the old bear."

They were quiet for a moment.

"The Keyblade Master will pay," the boy growled lowly. Elias, with his placid half a face, did something that, by those who did not know Elias, and know that he never showed emotion, might have been considered a smile.

"I think it is time... that you met the Master," said Elias Daemonwing.

-

It was down many empty corridors and through doors that Elias had long since locked off from him that Eriks finally found himself staring at an enormous set of iron-bound double doors. They creaked open as if they were as old as time, and the castle echoed with their vibrations when they slammed against the wall with titan slowness.

"What is this place?" asked Eriks in awe as he stepped into the darkness.

"This is the chamber of the Master," said Elias as the doors began to close behind them. There was a loud slamming as they came together, and the two of them were left in darkness. Then there was a light before them, and Eriks was amazed by what he saw.

"It's... you," he said softly.

_YES. IT IS I._

"I thought you'd... disappeared. We used to see you so often."

_I HAD, FOR SOME TIME. BUT I WAS HERE._

"So you're the one trying to bring back Arcadia?"  
There was a pause.

_YES... I AM. THERE IS... SOMETHING I MUST DO. AND FOR IT, I NEED THE POWER OF THE WORLDS... THE POWER... OF KINGDOM HEARTS._

"The hearts of all words," explained Elias. "Our master has great plans in mind. He shall bring this world to perfection."

_YES, MY APPRENTICE. AND NOTHING MUST STAND IN OUR WAY. ESPECIALLY THE KEYBLADE MASTER._

_-_

"So this is it, huh?"

These were the Rising Falls. It was here that rocks floated, water was solid, and falls rose.

"Yeah... welcome to Hollow Bastion," said Arc solemnly.

It was a short series of leaps and jumps to get up the floating platforms. Once, Orchid mistimed the leap to a moving platform, but luckily discovered the water below to be solid, but not hard enough to hurt. It was a rough climb back up, since her arm still hurt, which was to be expected, considering only a few hours ago it had been broken. Otherwise, Montblanc had got her feeling good as new.

Soon, they were on the last platform, this one at the top of the falls, and marked with a gateway, the top of which shot off a long beam of light, which carried off to the castle, which was some distance away.

"Figures. Of course the transport isn't here," sighed Arc. "And I suppose it'll bring a buttload of Heartless when it does get here."

Orchid walked over to the shallow pool in the middle of the floating chunk of land as they waited. For reasons that she could not say, she summoned the keyblade, then touched the Mage Bloom's tip to the water's surface. The water rippled out from the blade, and the reflection in it changed.

"Hey, guys... look at this," she said, eyes transfixed on the water.

"What is it, kupo?" asked Montblanc as he and Arc walked over.

Images flashed on the still surface without sound. Sora, but several years younger, there with a duck and a dog, Donald and Goofy. And there, a boy the trio didn't recognize. Orchid assumed it was Riku, whom Sora had mentioned many times in his story. He was saying something, and from the look on the other boy's face, it didn't seem that Sora liked it. Riku reached out his hand, and the keyblade disappeared from Sora's. It then reappeared in Riku's, as the Kingdom Key. And with that, Riku left, and Donald and Goofy followed, albeit reluctantly. And Sora was left with nothing but a wooden sword.

Then it was over.

"What... was that?" asked Arc.

"Kupopo... I think that was in Sora's story," suggested the moogle. "Maybe the keyblade caused echos from the past?"

"Maybe... but we can discuss later," said Orchid, looking in another direction. "Here comes the transport."

"There's only one person..." reported Arc, peering at the shape on the platform.

"That's strange, kupo..." said Montblanc nervously. "What do you think they're up to?"

"It can't be..." whispered Orchid. She couldn't yet make out any details, but there was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure if it was nervousness, shock, or anxiety. She found herself stepping away from the gate, back towards the pool. As the transport came closer, she could make out spiky hair, a jacket, and pants, all in black. The person held a sword easily in his right, for now she could tell it was a boy. And she knew, that as soon as the transport stopped, he would open his eyes, and dark eyes that she had grown up with would be staring out at her.

"Who is that?" asked Arc as the transport neared the platform.

"...Eriks," said the girl softly.

The platform came to a halt under the gate, and the boy opened his eyes and looked at her. The eyes, cold and filled with rage, truly scared her. But soon, the warmed with a mixture of emotions, confusion, surprise, happiness.

"Orca?" he asked. "Is that really you?"

"Y...yeah," she said unsteadily.

"Wait..." he looked down, and saw what she held in her hand. "_You're_ the Keyblade Master?"

"Damn right she is," said Arc gruffly. "And who the hell are you, kid?"

"My name is Eriks," answered the boy, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Show better respect for the servants of the Master."

"You've... changed, Eriks," Orchid said quietly.

"Yes," he said, calming down. "It's been rough, y'know? And, I just... I think we've all changed."

"Eriks...please, just stand aside," said Orchid. "We need to go through here, and stop all this."

"You don't understand, do you?" asked Eriks. "The Master... he's... well, it's not important who he is, but what's important is what he's doing."

"Destroying worlds? Killing innocent lives?" asked Arc spitefully.

"No!" shouted Eriks, swinging _Excalibur_ at him. "He's gathering power. He needs it to restore the worlds. All the worlds.... our world, Orca. He's going to bring back Arcadia. Return everything to normal. Make everything better."

"That's a load of crap!" raged Arc. "How can you believe that? Haven't you seen what the Heartless and the Shadowless have done?"

"Shut up!" yelled the boy. "This doesn't involve you!" He sighed. "And I know. You think they're bad. But... it's just what they are. They seek to return all hearts to the one great heart. They serve us. They are helping the Master. So he can right everything."

"You expect us just to stand here and eat this load of bull?" growled Arc.

"No. I expect you to believe the truth, and to give me the keyblade."

"What?" said Orchid, snapping out of her daze.

"There's one last thing we need. We need the power of the keyblade," said Eriks.

"Why should we give it to you?" spat Arc.

"Please... just, trust me," urged Eriks.

"Trust you? You litte-"

"Arc!"

The man turned, his face stunned. Orchid was looking at Eriks, but the anger on her face was clearly directed at the other man. He stopped, and stepped back, then sheathed his sword.

"Will you do it?" asked Eriks hopefully.

"I...I..." Orchid stuttered. She looked down at the keyblade in her hand. A wave of nostalgia flooded over her mind, as images of home ran through her thoughts. She wanted to go home, so badly. Just to go home, where it was safe. And then everything would be better again.

"Please," he implored. "Just please...Orchid."

All was silent as they waited for her desicion.

Slowly, she raised the hand holding the keyblade and held it in front of him. He raised out his hand to her. There was a shimmering, and then the keyblade was gone from Orchid's hand. Now it was in Eriks's.

"Thank you."

And then there was a flash of light, and he was gone.

-

It was quiet as they rode the transport back up.

"How could you...?" growled Arc lowly, breaking the silence.

"It's for the best," replied Orchid. "He's going to fix everything."

"What are you talking about?" he shouted. "You've just killed us all! You've seen what the Heartless do!"

"I trust Eriks!" she yelled back.

"What, and you don't trust me?" raged Arc. "You haven't seen him since this whole thing's started!"

"He's my friend!"

"Yeah? And who was the one getting your back all these times, huh? Who was your friend then, huh?"

"No, Arc, you don't see-"

"You don't see, Orchid! He's with _them_. The other side, you know? Elias, Stromwind, my brother... all those guys! They wanted to kill us. Kill you, specifically! And now you just handed them, the key to our salvation! Now the key to our destruction! Are you listening to me?"

"SHUT UP!"

There was silence then, except for the sobbing of a little girl.

"I...I just want to go home, so badly. And Eriks...he said...he said..."

Arc sighed.

"Yeah...sorry... I know how you feel... my brother... Dar'ck, the other one... he's in there too, y'know?" he said softly, gently patting the girl's shoulder. "Look... I mean... Eriks... he means well... but he's been misled. We have to go in there, and help him. Get him away from all that. End this whole mess. But we can't do it without you."

She sniffled, and sighed a little.  
"We need you, Orchid. Everyone needs you, kupo," said Montblanc quietly.

"Eriks needs you," added Arc.

Silence. Then a shuffling as she wiped the tears away.

"Yeah..." she said softly. Then with more conviction, "Yeah. Let's do this."

-

"Orca? What are you doing here?" asked Eriks, turning and facing them as they strode into the entry way of the castle.

"Eriks..." she said. She stopped, then gritted her teeth and continued. "Eriks, I can't let you do this. I...I'm sorry, but I can't."

"What are you talking about?" he said. "Why can't you understand?"

"No, Eriks," she said. "You're the one who doesn't understand."

"What are you talking about?" he questioned, a faintly dangerous tone at the edge of his voice.

"I can't let you have the keyblade," said Orchid firmly. She held out her hand. Eriks's arm jerked as he tried to hold on, then his hand floated up, and the keyblade disappeared from it, reappearing in Orchid's.

"You..." he said angrily.

"I'm sorry, Eriks," said the girl. "You don't really know what's going on. I have to do this."

"You killed Stromwind. You tried to ruin our plans. And now you want take the keyblade?" Eriks raged. "You might have been my friend once, but not anymore!"

"You've... really changed..." she said, stunned. "You... you're not Eriks anymore."

"Yeah, then who am I?" he shouted, drawing his sword, _Excalibur_. "Tell me who I am!"

"I don't know who you are, but you're not Eriks!" she yelled back.

"Then... I guess we're no longer friends," he said softly. "Now die."


	48. Long Ago Friend

Woohoo: Evilness! And fighting! And..and... Evilness! Next is Eeeelias. Yeah, he's freaky. Hmm... tired...not much else to say...umm...  
Ahh, Eriks. Yeah, he's Riku like Orchid's Sora. But then, He's also kind of Kairi in some bizzare way. Ah, well. Anyways, Black Orchid, as the very first paragraph implied, is basically parallel to Kingdom Hearts. Of course, there will be certain differences towards the end. But, Outcasts of Arcadia, if I ever get to it, is going to have a completely original plot. Yay. Anyways, good to see everyone's caught up. And no, I'm just going to brutally murder Eriks so that Orchid will be scarred for the rest of her life, knowing that she killed her one true love. Ah-hah-hah. Just kidding. Anyways, read and review!

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-

_THE BOY HAS FAILED US, ELIAS._

"Betrayal?" he asked suspiciously.

_NO... BUT HE SHALL NOT DELIVER THE KEYBLADE OF WORLD, LIFE TO US._

"Isn't he making any effort to get it?"

_HE IS. BUT HE WILL FAIL. I NEED YOU TO BE READY TO FINISH OFF THE KEYBLADE MASTER, ELIAS, MY MOST TRUSTED SERVANT._

"Of course, Master," he said, bowing low to the dais before him. "And the boy? Shall I dispose of him?"

_NO. HE SHALL SERVE HIS OWN PURPOSE. WE NEED HIM STILL, EVEN IF HE FAILS IN THIS TASK._

"Then I shall go," said Elias. And then he left.

Silently, the great presence contemplated things.

_I DOUBT YOU SHALL SUCEED EITHER. NO MATTER. I SHALL HAVE THE BOY._

-

Orchid blocked quickly, then dodged back from Eriks's strike. He snarled angrily, blocking a blow from Arc, then Orchid.

"Blizzara!" shouted Montblanc. There was a burst of freezing wind, and shards of ice flew out, exploding across the boy's form.

Arc took this chance to go in with a punch, but Eriks saw it coming, and easily stepped aside, then counterattacked. Arc managed to block with Sequence, and Orchid covered him as he dodged out of the way, attacking Eriks fiercely.

He blocked, parried, then countered and blocked again. Orchid faked a thrust, then went for his side, but he dodged and took advantage of the opening to slash at her. She jumped back, but not before his sword tore a long gash across her sweatshirt. He grinned triumphantly.

It was short lived.

Arc came barreling in, sword swinging wildly and furiously, forcing Eriks onto the defensive. Eriks finally managed to catch his opponent's sword on the hilt, then threw him back. He lunged forwards to stab Arc while he was off balance, then gave a yelp of surprise as lightning struck him.

"Thundara!" shouted Montblanc.

Arc pressed his attack again, but Eriks blocked, then faked a thrust, then slashed again. Arc blocked, then parried the next strike.

"Those cuts..." said Orchid, cautiously closing in on the dueling pair. "That's the series I used on Marche! Arc, you can't win that!"

But it was too late. Eriks, working quickly, was already on the last series of slashes, and Arc could not back out without recieving grievious wounds. The boy grinned eagerly at his assured victory.

"Ah, screw the swords!" shouted Arc. He pushed forwards, blocking with his sword, then swung in with his shield. Eriks, caught off guard, went flying as the shield slammed into his face. Arc grinned. "Take that!"

"You..." snarled Eriks, getting to his feet. _Excalibur_'s blade began glowing white. "I'll..."  
"Stop!" shouted Orchid. A large clock symbol appeared in front of him, the hands spinning quickly, but rapidly slowing down. Soon, the hands came to a full and complete stop, and the magic disappeared. Eriks stood there, frozen in surprise, locked in time. She walked over, looking at him sadly. "I'm sorry... I don't want to hurt you, but I can't let you stop us, Eriks. I'm sorry."

Then she walked past him, and started towards the stairs.

There was a shattering sound, and they all turned to look.

"You think... a cheap spell like _that_ could stop me?" asked Eriks, eyes aflame with hatred. "I'm disappointed in you, Flower of Arcadia."

"Please, Eriks... I don't want to hurt you..." she begged.

"Why?" he shouted. "We aren't friends anymore! I thought I wasn't Eriks, huh?"

"Please..."  
"No! I will show you _no_ mercy!"

He charged and swiped his blade at them, and the three dodged back quickly. Montblanc's spells bounced off him with little effect, and he was doing a fair job of holding off both Arc and Orchid. They swung down, and he blocked with his blade. They held for a moment, then he gave a mighty heave and threw them both back.

"Kjellnor!" he shouted, holding his hand at them, palm outwards. A magic seal, about the size of his palm, appeared before him, then flames shot out, engulfing the pair. They blocked feebly with their arms, but the heat was still intense. It stopped, only to reveal Eriks charging forwards, sword in hand.

He slashed Arc across the chest, streaking it red, then was thrown back as he hit his metallic arm. Turning, he struck out at Orchid, catching her in the side, opening a bloody gash. Not able to turn in time, he countered Arc's strike by kicking and catching the man in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He bulled into Orchid, sending her sprawling across the ground, then easily knocked Arc to his knees with a blow to the head from the hilt of his sword.

"Fira!" shouted Montblanc. The ball of fire struck Eriks in the side, pushing him back. Then, the little moogle raised his rod up high. "Carbuncle!"

There was a shimmering of light, then a little creature, greenish, with long, fluffy tail, appeared above him. It had little black eyes and a large red jewel set in its forehead before its large, perked-up ears.

"what do you want, my master?"

"Heal us!" urged the moogle, pointing out the beaten up Arc and Orchid. The fairy nodded, then sped off, trailing sparkles. Soon, Orchid and Arc were shining with light, and barriers of various magical types formed around them. Their wounds healed, the cuts closing and the bleeding stopping. The same sort of barriers, and a little of the healing, formed about Montblanc too. "Thank you, you may go."

The Fairy nodded happily, then was gone in a sparkle of lights.

"Damn... a summon," cursed Eriks, looking at his fully healed opponents. "I wasn't counting on that."

"Well there's more where that came from," grinned Arc, limbering up his shoulders.

"Not today," said the boy. He held out his hand, and another magic circle appeared before him. "Seal!"

The symbol expanded until it passed out of the limits of the room.

"No outside help now, guardian," sneered Eriks. "Though, I suspect that little rat shielded you people enough to make it interesting now..."

"You little-" snarled Arc, biting it off as he struck out with his shield. Eriks blocked, the kicked him back, turning just in time to block Orchid's strike. He pushed, then dodged back, the words already chanting on his lips.

"Korshana!" he shouted. Howling icy gales poured out from the seal at his palm tearing at the three warriors as they struggled against him. It slowed them, but did not seem to have such a devastating effect anymore. They pushed on through, and when the spell ended, they met him with full force, _Excalibur_ against Sequence and Mage Bloom. The boy tottered as they pressed their attack, then he jumped up and back, onto a higher level, then cast his next spell. "Barshinae!"

Wind blew out from him, and where it touched, explosions rang. The blasts ravaged the room, buffeting the trio this way and that. When the smoke cleared, it was just in time for them to catch the boy leaping down, a spell on his lips.

"Elementii!" he shouted as he barreled into Arc, his hand clamping down on the man's face. Arc's eyes widened as he realized what was going on, but by then it was too late.

Orchid shielded her eyes from the sharp electric blasts as the lightning tore through her friend's body. His scream easily drowned out the crackle of electricity, and she could almost see his skeleton illuminated by the glow. When it was done, barriers or no barriers, Arc was completely stunned. He fell to the floor, sizzling slightly, Eriks riding him down like a falling tree, a triumphant grin on his face. He stood up off the man, but not before delivering a few swift punches to his face. Satisfied, he turned to face his other oppenents.

Just in time to get pummeled by a veritable rain of spells.

"Thundara! Deluge! Fira! Tornado! Blizzara!" Montblanc rang out in succession. The elements tore through the room, slamming into Eriks with the force of a burning, scalding, freezing, electrifying freight train. Eriks was sent slamming against the wall next to the stairs by the force of it, slumping down to the bottem when they finished.

He snarled, and as he stood, raised his hand, another magic seal forming.

"Charostor," he hissed. Darkness ripped out of his palm, flying on hellish winds towards the moogle. Montblanc gave a squeak of fright, then was engulfed in the darkness. Orchid did not know what terrors he endured in there, but when it was over, Montblanc was left shivering and wide-eyed, unable to respond, on the floor. Smiling, Eriks turned to his last opponent. Only to see her disappear.

"Moonlight Rave!"

She slammed into him, hard, filled with rage. Skidding to a halt behind him, she came briefly into view, before disappearing again. Each step sent her flying again, slamming right through him and introducing him to a whole world of keyblade-centric pain.  
"Finale!" she shouted. Explosions rang out about the boy as she finished the combo, coming to a halt neatly behind him. Turning, she watched as he stumbled, then shakily turned to face her.

"You..." he growled, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Gravija!" she shouted, aiming the Mage Bloom at him. Eriks was engulfed in a sphere of black, covered in arcane symbols, and she watched as he struggled, resisting it as it attempted to crush him.

It shattered around him like shards of glass.

"I told you, cheap spells like tha-"  
"Shut up!"

Eriks went flying back as the keyblade smashed into his face, and he went skidding hard over the floor. Orchid seethed with anger, her breathing heavy as she glared at him. He got slowly to his feet, sword at the ready. Then he raised his hand at her, then magic seal alreay formed on his palm.

"Alavastier."  
Orchid instinctually backed away and held the keyblade before her as a shield, but what happened was not what she expected. Instead of blasting out at her, the white wind blew from the seal _towards_ Eriks, engulfing him in it. She watched as he breathed in deeply, straightening up as his wounds healed, the blood disappearing and the bruises fading.

"Now... Light Ray!" he shouted, _Excalibur_ extended. A beam of light shot out, Orchid barely dodging it. She rolled away as he swung it towards her, then tumbled back to her feet as it ended. Taking a quick glance behind her, she saw that the attack had left a long, burnt groove along the wall.

"Eriks! Stop this!" she pleaded, now truly frightened that he would actually kill her.

"No..." he said softly, walking towards her. As he came, he blurred, then suddenly there were more of him. Shadow illusions of the boy walked to and fro, confusing her sight and making her lose which one was real. "You're outnumbered, Orchid."

"I can never be outnumbered..." she growled, her eyes jumping from figure to figure, trying to see the real one, "by a zero like you!"  
Eriks roared, and a pair of the figures leaped at her. Orchid swung the keyblade through both, dispersing the illusions, but cried out in pain as she felt cold steel run down her back, grazing her lightly as she lunged forwards and away. Turning, she was met by a trio of images, all of which proceeded to surround her. Turning, the last two had also cirlced her.

"What are you going to do now, Flower of Arcadia?" they asked.

"Thundara!" she shouted, raising the keyblade skyward. Lightning bolts came crashing down, striking the figures that surrounded her. Eriks grunted in pain, and the illusions were gone. She faced him, and grinned grimly. "Now what, huh?"

"Fine..." he hissed through clenched teeth. He held out his arms to the sides, magic gathering in each hand. "By Charostor, by Alavastier, by the holy power invested in me, make one all, and make all one. Hikari-Kage Bunshin!"

There was an explosion of light and dark, and when Orchid opened here eyes, three copies of Eriks stood before her.  
"More illusions?" she spat. "Come on, Eriks..."

In response, the boy lunged forwards, and she blocked with the keyblade. There was the clang as the blades met.

"Did I already find you?" she grinned, ignoring the other two images as they circled. After all, she held the real one.  
"Who said they were illusions?" he said, an evil glint in his eye.

Orchid cried out in pain and leapt back as twin blades left scarlet lines across her arms. Mumbling the Cura spell, she backed off, reassessing the situation.

"They are light, dark, and me. They are much more than illusions, Flower of Arcadia."

"Then I'll just beat you all," she growled. "Shooting Star!"

She swung the keyblade, and let it loose. It swung out, striking the nearest clone. He jerked back, cursing.

"Strike!"

The she aimed for the next clone, striking him in the chest.

"Strike!"

She struck the third and last clone, sending him stumbling backwards.

"Strike! Strike!"

She indiscriminately struck the two outer clones, then aimed the keyblade, glowing with power.

"Wish!"

She sideswiped with the blast, the surge of power shooting out from the Mage Bloom and striking all three foes. Mighty explosions followed, and when it was over, only one Eriks stood.

"You..." he heaved, taking a step towards her.

"I'm sorry, Eriks," she said. "But this is it."  
Then she charged forwards and struck.

"Meteor Barrage!"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she struck out with all her strength, all her might, all her heart at her one time best friend. She struck again, and again, and again, without mercy, but full of regret that it came to this. The last strike sent Eriks flying up into the air, and she leapt up after him.

"Apocalypse!"

She slammed down through him, and the sound was deafening as all of the gathered power went off on him and she crashed into the floor, shaking the ground with her impact. She breathed out slowly, then turned to face him.

"I... won't let you...do this..." he panted, stumbling to his feet. "Alavastier!"

The Light Wind appeared again, healing him, but far from fully recovering his strength. He grimaced at her, then charged.

Orchid dodged back, then blocked and parried. Her strength was flagging, and her movements were becoming slower. Every hit was harder to block, every strike harder to dodge. Eriks, on the other hand, showed no signs of weakening in his attacks, though it was plain to see by his wide eyes and ragged breathing that he was working purely on adreneline. Orchid looked into his eyes, and for a moment, she hesitated, wondering where her best friend had gone.

"It's over!"

Orchid felt herself slammed against the wall, and clutched at her throat, the keyblade disappearing as soon as she dropped it. She scrabbled uselessly at the hand that was slowly choking her, crushing her windpipe.

"Say goodbye, Orchid," said Eriks grimly.

"To you, punk!"

The grip slackened and Eriks went slamming into the wall next to Orchid as Arc's shield slammed into him from behind. Then a large hand grabbed him by the back of the collar, and he was suddenly hurtling through the air, to land roughly in the middle of the room.

"No one..." seethed Arc, "hurts my friends."

"You...you can't..." panted Eriks, getting to his feet.

"I can." Arc's face was grim as he and Orchid walked up. Montblanc approached from the other side, spells all ready.

"Goodbye...Eriks," said Orchid sadly.

"Clockwork Dragon!"  
"Thundara! Fira! Blizzara!"

"Moonlight Rave!

"Wings of the Dragon, fly into the Azure Sky!"

"Deluge! Tornado!"

"Finale!

And then it was over. There was a flash of light, and the boy was gone.

-

There was a flash of light, then a limp figure crumpled on the floor before the dais. Eriks raised his head slowly, tottering unsteadily to his feet to stare up into the crystal depths of the form that held the Master's essence.

_I AM GLAD YOU HAVE RETURNED, MY APPRENTICE._

"Master... I could not... I could not, Master..." he cried, his breathing short and ragged, his face wet with tears. "I have failed you..."

_YOU HAVE FAR FROM FAILED ME, ERIKS. NOW IS THE TIME FOR YOUR TRUE VICTORY._

"What... what do you mean?" he panted.

_I CAN BESTOW POWER UNDREAMED OF UPON YOU, MY APPRENTICE. ALL YOU MUST DO IS SURRENDER YOU WILL TO ME. SURRENDER YOUR HEART._

"Anything... anything for you, Master," he rasped.

_THEN OPEN YOUR MIND TO ME, BOY. OPEN YOUR HEART._

Eriks closed his eyes, and let everything go. His rage. His anger. His remorse. His sorrow. His loss. His hope. His heart.

When it was over, the room was dark. The crystalline prison that had once held the Master glowed no longer. But two lights flared up as he opened his eyes.

_"Now, we are _one_."_


	49. Elias

Woot: It was getting boring, doing all these combat scenes, but then I figured out a way to make Elias's fight more interesting: Eclipse! Yeah. Catoblepas is awesome. I plan on using something from the Amber Chronicles for his fight. Anyways, not many people have reviewed the last chapter, but then, it's the weekend, so that's understandable. For IB, Outcasts of Arcadia is the planned Sequal to Black Orchid with completely original plot, though featuring the characters you know and love. Anyways, read and review.

* * *

-

"Planet Diver"

Arc came crashing down on the Defender, crushing the lumbering armored Heartless and its dog-faced shield. Behind him, Orchid and Montblanc double teamed on a Wizard, unleashing a flurry of spells on it. When they finished, they continued up the battlements, furthering their journey into the castle.

"If I remember, just up ahead should be a transport station, and after that we can get to most of the important parts of the castle" said Arc as they ran. "The chapel, the old King's private studies, the throne room, and other places. The Grand Hall, where I think the door is, and the Laboratory are back farther aways."

"Then we should get hurrying" said Orchid as they launched themselves into another Heartless patrol. Air soldiers sizzled under Montblanc's lightning, and Defenders wrestled with Arc as Orchid wreaked havoc among the wizards. They quickly finished them off, though the Defender took a bit of doing to take out.

"Man, hate to see the place like this" grumbled Arc as they jogged up the way and into a door.

"Oh, yeah, you lived here for two years, huh" said Orchid. "What was it like"

"Ah, it was pretty good" he said as they boarded a transport and started the slow ascent up. "Most of the time, anyways. Everyone was just normal people. Since we didn't have a King, Squall and those guys just sort of took over keeping things in line, since they were the ones who went through the first Heartless event. According to them, life went back to normal after they got back." He sighed. "But... when you got to these upper levels, things got edgy. A lot of people tried to pretend that the whole thing never happened, or that Ansem never existed. Heck, I only heard him mentioned a couple of times. And they closed off the Laboratory and the Grand Hall, and only a few people were allowed into his old quarters. I guess no one wanted anybody stirring up trouble from the past. Squall never answered any of my questions about what happened, and Cloud and I never talked much. Aerith only told me enough to know that they had reasons for guarding these areas and being so paranoid. Of course, it was blabber mouth Yuffie that gave me a vague outline of what happened, but even that didn't help much. I just knew that there was some dark secret about something from four years ago, and that was it."

They took the rest of the ride in silence.

It was after a minor skirmish with a number of darkballs, a kind of Heartless they had not previously met, like the shadows, but large, jagged-mouthed balls of darkness, that they came to an ornate pair of doors.

"Do we go in" asked Orchid as they stood before it.

"If anyone's home, then they'll be through those doors" said Arc.

"Let's go, kupo" finished Montblanc.

They pushed open the double doors and walked inside.

It was lit only by eerie pale lights from above, casting a strange and creepy gloom about the hall. Walls made of white stone were cast in a deep bluish sort of darkness, and columns proud and tall now seemed to loom menancly. Their feet were silent as they walked down the carpeted way and the doors creaked slowly closed behind them.

"Well, it seem the Master was right" came the voice. "Of course, He always is."

"That voice..." said Orchid. "Elias"  
"Yes" said the man, stepping forwards out of the shadows to face them. "It seems to be my duty to eradicate you."

His half shown face was emotionless, and his half of a mask betrayed nothing but a false amusement. The heels of his shoes clicked softly on the floor as he walked towards them.

"Eradicate, huh" asked Arc, pushing up his tinted lenses. "Well, eradicate this"

He lunged forwards, sword point out. Elias nimbly dodged back, effortlessly deflecting the strike with the back of his hand. Arc swung with his mechanical right, but the other man easily stepped back, just barely being missed.

"Shooting Star"

Elias quickly brought his arms up in front of him, and the keyblade struck heavily. He grunted as the Mage Bloom struck him over and over and as Arc joined in with his own attacks. Montblanc threw in his own salvo of spells, and together, they began driving the man back.

"Enough"

There was an explosion of energy, and the three of them were flung back. Elias stood, staring at them coldly.

"I have no time for your child's play" he said. He raised his arm, then snapped in succesion at each on of them. "Inferno."

Pillars of flame shot up from beneath them, each engulfed in their own fire. Elias watched emotionlessly as the fires danced and flared around them.

Suddenly, Arc came roaring out of the burning flames, sword raised. Elias stepped back, easily avoiding his strike, but gave a grunt of surprise as the man barreled into him, knocking them both to the floor. Arc, still sizzling and seething with rage, straddled his fallen opponent and started punching, landing blow after blow on Elias's face. He paused momentarily, staring down at the battered face of Elias Daemonwing.

Suddenly, Elias looked up at him, as if nothing had happened. Then he faded back, down into the floor, becoming a puddle of shadow. Arc suddenly found himself pinning down nothing but air. Then he found himself hurtling back as a hard black shoe connected with his jaw, sending him flying.

"That...hurt" said Elias disdainfully, one hand brushing his face as he stared at the trio. Orchid and Montblanc, having taken the time to heal themselves some, went over to work on Arc. "I'll kill him first."

"Leave him alone" shouted Orchid, charging forwards. She swung, but Elias dodged easily. He effortlessly moved away from each strike, then, tiring of this, he reached out and deftly grabbed the haft of the keyblade in one delicate hand.

"Tiresome" he noted. Then he flung his arm out, sending her stumbling backwards, and raised his hand before him. He snapped his fingers at her. "Thordain."

The air around Orchid crackled, and the ceiling above and the floor below glowed peculiarly. Then lightning welled up beneath her and crashed down from above. She cried out in pain as twin charges met in her body, every nerve flaring with pain. She fell to the ground twitching as it ended, gasping for breath. Then, slowly, she got to her feet.

"Persistant..." observed Elias. He easily blocked a blow from Arc, who had snuck around from the side, without even looking his way. He dodged back and faded into the shadows as Arc and Orchid both charged in again. He came flying down from the gloom of the ceiling, landing lightly behind them, and swiped at both with his bare hands, glowing white. They cried out and stumbled forwards, sporting long slashes across their backs.

Elias raised his arms to strike again, then jerked suddenly as something it him. He turned to see what.

"Fira" cast Montblanc. He shot off another fireball, striking Elias in the chest and sending him flying. Orchid and Arc cleared out of the way as Elias, followed by a flurry of multicolored spells, went shooting past. He slammed hard against the wall, his body jerking painfully as spell after spell struck him. "Deluge"

Just as the last torrent of water came flying to hit him, Elias looked up, then faded back into the wall, dispersing into shadow. He appeared silently behind the moogle, who turned just in time to see him.

"Freezeblink." He snapped his fingers at the little figure. Jagged spikes of ice shot up around Montblanc, then slammed together, instantly fusing and encasing him. He stood there, frozen within. And then it shattered, leaving him limp and beaten on the floor amidst the shards of ice.

"Moonlight Rave" shouted Orchid.

Elias gasped as the keyblade slammed into him, forcing the air from his lungs. Turning, he just barely caught sight of Orchid as she pivoted gracefully and disappeared again. In quick sucession, she repeatedly slammed into the thin figure of Elias, each strike charging the keyblade more.

"Finale"

Explosions rang out around the man as she appeared behind him, keyblade held out to the side after the final strike. Elias staggered in the blast, slowly turning to face her.

"You... have grown stronger since we last met" he said slowly. "I shall actually have to take you seriously."

"What" shouted Orchid in surprise. It had been hard enough to hurt him before, and he hadn't even been going full force? She looked uneasily from the thing, scarecrow-like man to her two companions, who were getting to their feet. She took comfort from their presence, and pressed on, her voice more confident that she felt. "It's three against one, Elias. You can't win, no matter how tough you act."

"Interesting, coming from someone with so much bravado" said Elias. "But it won't be three against one."

He snapped his fingers, and it rang loudly in the stillness.

"Eclipse."

The dim lights grew dimmer, and shadows lengthened and grew larger around them. Soon it darkened to a strange point where all that could be seen was the three warriors themselves, and a grinning white half-mask.

Suddenly, tendrils of darkness shot up from the darkened floor, warpping around their arms and legs. Struggle as they might, they found themselves being pulled deeper into shadow. Then everything was dark.

-

Something moved in the darkness.

There, in complete obscurity, in shadows that Arc's eyes could not peirce, something moved.

He watched warily, his head quickly turning this way and that, sword at the ready. He could hear it. The loud, wet breathing of something large. He could feel the minute vibrations as it padded slowly around him, stalking him, hunting him. He spun around at a noise behind him, the swishing of an enormous tail. Nothing was there, as far as he could see. Which wasn't very far at all.

He slowly edged in that direction, listening carefully for some noise that would betray his opponent. There was the gnashing of teeth ahead of him, and plunged forwards, sword first.

His blade cut thickly into shadows, shadows, and nothing else. There was nothing there. Panting slightly from the fear and the rush of adreniline, he stood quietly, trying to listen. And then he heard it. Heavy, moist breathing, loud and harsh. Right behind him.

Spinning around and dodging back, he came face to face with a pair of glowing red eyes. They watched him as a cat watches a cornered mouse. It padded lightly forwards, its stealth contradictory to its obvious size. From the set of the eyes in height and distance apart, Arc estimated its head to be about two thirds the size of himself, and its body to be humongous. It growled lowly at him, a sound like the rumbling of distant thunder. And then, to his surprise, it spoke.

_It has been long since I feasted on man-flesh,_ it said in voice like falling mountains that crashed and echoed through Arc's head. _Who are you?_

This was an old beast. A very old beast. And beasts only grow that old if they are cunning and vicious enough to survive that long. Arc decided to drop his normal flippantry and take it seriously.

"I am Arcanis Tempus Mousseux, ruling lord of the Clockwork City, Adonis" he said solemnly. "And who are you"

_It has been even longer since I tasted royalty, _rumbled the creature. Then it answered, _I am Catoblepas, one-time guardian of the treasure._

"And now we're gonna fight, huh" asked Arc, cautiously backing away slightly while trying not to appear to be doing so. He had heard old legends of Catoblepas. Apparently, it had been a horrendous monster that had guarded the the treasure once said to be buried in the lowest levels of Hollow Bastion, but in a time so long ago as to be myth. And here he was, face to face with it.

_That would hardly be sporting, would it?_ it asked. _And it has been so long since I had any sport. No, we shall not fight. Instead, you shall fight my servants, my offspring, my young. And then we shall feast on your flesh and gnaw your bones until you are nothing but a memory._

"Well, if it's sport you want" said Arc, his mind racing"then... I know a way to make this _very_ interesting."

_And how would that be, mortal?_ asked the demon, its rumbling mental voice betraying a hint of interest.

"I propose... a bet" he explained. "If I fight... and kill all of your young, then you must allow me one strike, one chance, to strike you dead, and you shall not fight back."

_What do _I_ gain from this, fool human? _rumbled Catoblepas angrily._ I would gnash your bones between my teeth either way, and without your bet I do not risk letting myself be hurt._

"Well, I doubt I could take out a big strong guy like you in _one_ shot" replied Arc easily. "And after I have my one shot, if I do not suceed, I promise, on this signet ring, that I shall surrender myself willingly to you. And, if I do not kill your young, then I promise, by that selfsame symbol, with your help, to free you of this prison into a world full of prey for you, and you may eat me after. How does that sound"  
_Yes..._ it rumbled approvingly. _Yes, it is very interesting, and it adds pique and savor of the challenge, the risk. Though I doubt you shall suceed in killing all five of my offspring by yourself. I accept your wager, small being._

The darkness lightened slightly, and he could make out the form of Catoblepas. Large and muscular, it stood on four legs. Long horns protruded from the side of its head and curved forwards, perfect for ramming and skewering anything in its way. Its long, sleek body was feline, though its strong, thick tail was remeniscent of a reptile's. It head was snarling and dog-like, and a wiry mane trailed from between its ears down its back to the tip of its tail. Its body was striped red and purple, and its eyes were fiery. Between it tree trunk legs wove small, sleek forms, each a Catoblepas in miniature, approximately as big as Arc, if not a little bigger.

Arc smiled grimly. He had made a devil's deal. But then, people had called Vins the devil, and look what he did to him.

-

Montblanc quietly pondered the dark and featureless nothingness in which he stood. Then, out of the gloom, something padded up and lay dowd before him. It held its head regally high, and was adorned with an ornate headress and earrings. It had the face of a woman, but was large, and had the body of a lion. It stared peircingly down at him.

"A test of riddles" it stated calmly. It was a sphinx, and sphinx love riddles.

"What if I want to fight" asked Montblanc warily, his rod held before him. "You don't seem too strong."

"You're right, I'm not" said the sphinx. "However, unless you win, the barrier protecting me and keeping you here will not fall. And even then, I'm sure I could make a meal out of someone as puny as yourself. So now, a test of riddles."

Montblanc nodded, knowing there was no other way out, and Elias meant for him to die here. The sphinx started with the first riddle.

"I go up and up, and never come down,

My roots deep in the earth and my head in the clouds.

What am I"

-

"Welcome" said Elias's cold voice"to my realm."

Orchid shuddered at the sound of the unseen speaker, looking about in the gloom, but the darkness was complete, and no light would pierce it.

"Here, I am master" he continued. "Here, I am god. My will is absolute, my whimsy is law. Everything obeys me, here in this shadow realm. Here, you are powerless, and I am all powerful. Here, you shall die."


	50. Shadow Games

Wootah: Ultra Kick-Ass Chapter! Yeah, this is so awesome! Introduce the evil! Wahahahahah...man, we're gettin' to the cool stuff now! Yeah, yeah! And, as for Demon Surfer... you thought that was simple? Well too bad you're wrong! Hah! No tree's _that_ tall. "Head in the clouds"? (sighs) okay... calm down... anyways, this chapter is awesomeness incarnate, maybe only rivalled by the Stromwind Fight or the March vs. Orchid fight. So, R R peoples!

* * *

-

Arc dodged back as the first of the fiends leapt at him. He jumped again as it attempted to gore him upon landing, barely evading the sharp long horns on its head. He swung with Sequence, but it clanged off as the cub turned and blocked with its horns.

He noted that the other young beasts were still standing by their parent, watching carefully. Apparently, this first one was sent to gauge his strength. Probably not a good time to pull out all his aces.

He parried and blocked the horn-thrusts of the miniature Catoblepas, making clumsy stumbles when he knew he could afford it so as to make it seem he was just barely getting by. Feeling confident about the pup's inability to pose any real threat, he lunged in and slashed at its shoulder, leaving a long, red cut.

Big mistake.

The beast roared in anger, then leapt forwards, pouncing at him with its enormous paws and thick limbs. Taken off guard, Arc tumbled back, falling down with it on top of him. He pushed and shoved with his arms in an attempt to dislodge it, but it was too heavy and the snapping jaws kept him from doing anything more than defensive. As the snarling mouth went for his face, he punched upwards, lodging his shield in its jaw. It bit down, biting futilely at the metal, and Arc lodged it in further as it opened its maw wider to try and get around it. The beast howled in frustration at the block in its mouth as they wrestled, then suddenly cut off. Hot, wet liquid stained Arc's shirt, dripping from the long bloody gash and the vicious blade of Sequence. He had slit its throat.

_Get him!_ roared Catoblepas.

He was barely back on his feet and the four were upon him.

-

Montblanc thought. It took a bit of thinking, but he finally answered, with confidence"A mountain."

The sphinx growled in annoyance, but nodded. "Sometimes they fall to that one. But it was simple. Now, your turn."

The moogle sat for a while, racking his head for riddles. Too many were childish jokes with obvious answers, but he started pooling together some of the better ones he knew. Choosing one, he spoke to the sphinx.

"A white container with no door to hide,  
But also I hold golden treasure inside."

The sphinx smiled.

"Challenging, had I not heard it before. The answer is obviously an egg."

Montblanc sighed, and nodded in agreement.

"Then it's my turn" said the Sphynx.

"I stand without leg,

I move without will,

I hurt without force,

I am harder to wound than to kill."

-

Claws reached out from the darkness, tearing at her body. Orchid screamed in pain and fear, trying to escape the phantom limbs. She jumped back as something wrapped around her leg, slashing wildly at it. She could see nothing, only herself, and the dark shapes outlined agains her when they struck.

"Yes" whispered Elias in her ear. "That's right. Fear. Despair. Hurt. Die."

Orchid spun around, swinging the keyblade, but hit nothing. A chill ran up her spine as a hand lightly trailed its fingers up her back.

"The fear of such young people is so much sweeter, purer, than the terror of any adult" he commented softly.

"Fira" shouted Orchid, spinning about as fast as she could. The fireball shot off into the distance, swallowed up by the gloom, illuminating nothing more than her own frightened face, and only that for a moment.

There was a flutter of leathery wings, and Orchid peered about warily, trying to find the source. She screamed suddenly as sharp teeth bit into the flesh of her arm, and she could feel numbing cold spread from the sin black mandibles. Tearing away, blood, hot and thick, trickled down her arm, down the haft of the keyblade.

"Feed, my minions" said Elias. "Rend her to shreds. Tear her apart in the dark, and devour her heart, her mind, her body. But remember... her soul is _mine_."

-

Arc rolled out of the way as the fiends jumped him. They crashed down, landing nimbly and pouncing towards him again. His sword bounced off the leading one's horns as he took a sideways slash, but the monster went flying as his shielded fist slammed into the side of its head. He dodged the next two, then landed a swift kick in the side to the last one. Panting, he watched warily as they circled about him.

_Now... what was it that Zell said?_ Arc asked himself silently. He strained to remember, the memory coming back grudgingly, but steadily. _That's right. We had been out south of the castle, hunting those underwater boar-like things... forget what they're called... man, Hollow Bastion's the only place where you can walk underwater... lessee.. what did Zell say about handling them? Something about crosses... oh, yeah._

He remembered now. When dealing with large animals like that, you just draw imaginary lines from their eyes to the opposite ears. Then strike where the lines cross. That was the weakest point of their skull, always.

He dodged to the side as the first one leapt at him, catching it a grazing slash with his sword. As the next one charged straight at him, he swung back his right, then hit with all his might, smashing straight in the forehead. There was a sickening crack, and the fiend went flying past, skidding across the ground like a wet lump of meat and finally coming to a halt. It didn't move.

He grinned, then grunted as he was barreled into from the side, falling to the ground with his assailent on top of him. He cursed as his sword was knocked away, and struggled mightily to keep his shield and not get bitten at the same time. His head swung this way and that to avoid the goring horns. Finally, the beast paused for a moment, and that was all he needed. Reaching up, he grabbed it by the furry nape around its neck and pulled hard, swinging it over him and onto its back. He punched down into its gut, and it wheezed as the air was forced from its lungs. Gasping, the creature struggled pititfully as he leapt over to its head and wrapped his arms around it. He gave a heave and mighty twist, and there was a snapping noise as the spinal cord was severed. He dropped the beast, and it fell lifelessly to the floor.

"Okay, two more" he said, grinning.

The two remaining offspring circled him warily, closing in steadily. The obviously planned to rush him simultaneously. Of course, there was only one way to throw this off.

They charged, and he leapt up, directly towards one of the monsters. He crashed into its head, barely avoiding the sharp and pointed horns, and rolled off its back to land behind it as it turned. As soon as it faced him, he quickly made his little invisible X on it and then punched right in with his shield. The animal dodged to the side just barely, and managed to avoid a fatal hit, though the blow sent it reeling and crashing off to the side. Arc watched as the other one charged at him. It waved its head about erratically, ensuring that Arc could not try the same thing, and also that he would be gored. He stared at it carefully, taking a step forwards, then a few steps back.

"This'll have to be times perfectly" he muttered. Then, as it was almost upon him, he ran forwards and fell back, his legs going before him and slid across the ground. He shot between the beast's front legs, narrowly avoiding decapitation by the horns, then kicked up viciously with both legs, sending the creature tumbling past him, head over heels. Quickly scrambling to his feet, he ran back over to it, then jumped up above the floored and upside down creature, and came down harshly, elbow straight into its throat, crushing its windpipe. The monster gasped and convulsed, then was still. Arc stood up from it victoriously.

"Then I guess that's"

He was cut off as he screamed in pain. A horn, long, black, and coated in blood, protruded from his shoulder. He felt himself lifted, and cried out as the horn tore at his muscles and his feet left the ground, then suddenly, he was flying through the air, and landed harshly on the ground. He slowly struggled to rise, eyeing the monster who had done it. It was the offspring that he had struck in the head, but missed. It walked towards him, stumbling a little. One eye was lazily staring off to the side, and its legs jerked unevenly. It snarled at him as he got to his feet, then charged.

Arc kicked, his foot digging into the black ground, and swiftly lifting his leg, he unearthed something long and shiny, and it flew up into the air. His hand snatched Sequence out of the air, and he dodged to the side of the charge, blade outstretched as he braced himself, a cry on his lips. The sword cut fierce and true, straight through the beast, splitting open its side like it were nothing more than paper. The monster fell to the ground behind him, thrashing about in its blood and gore, then finally, gaspingly, laying still.

"Now it's your turn" he said grimly, turning to the glowing eyes of Catoblepas.

-

Montblanc contemplated this one hard. It was a real puzzle, and he had no idea how to go about it. Everything described was an opposite. How could something stand without a leg? Maybe it was a building. But buildings don't move. But then, wagons move without will, they move by their _owner's_ will. But what could hurt without force? And was there anything that was harder to hurt than to kill? He cowered slightly as the sphinx rumbled in what he suddenly realized to be satisfied purring. It _enjoyed_ his discomfort. It started at him with piercing eyes that seemed to dance with flame. That's when it hit him.

"Fire" he squeaked. "The answer's fire"

The sphinx growled, its face going from smug to annoyed.

"Fine then" it spat. "And your riddle"

Montblanc thought carefully, trying to come up with a good one.

"Ah" he said. Then he began reciting.

"I hold many things for some,  
Like happiness or fear,

But though I'm just around the bend,

I never do get here."

The Sphinx's eyes narrowed, thinking about it. It pondered long, trying to figure it out. Finally, its eyes flashed open with realization.

"Tricky... in this timeless place, one forgets about time" smiled the creature appreciatively. "But I still know tomorrow."

Montblanc nodded and sighed. He had really hoped that one would stump it.

"Well then" purred the Sphinx. "My turn.

"I am that which dries up seas,

All before me mountains crumble,

I am that which brings down kingdoms

Before me all men bow humble.

What am I"

Montblanc thought hard on all the legendary monsters he'd heard of, but none he could think of had done all these things. He tried to think of natural forces. A drought might dry the sea, but did it crumble mountains? Earthquakes brought down kingdoms, but how did they dry up seas or make men bow down before it? It didn't make any sense. Then what were all men weak to? Fire? Hunger? No, there were some people beyond such things. Then what? The grave? What brought the grave?

"That's it" he cried out. "Time! The answer is time"

"You are quite clever, puny being" admitted the Sphinx. "Few have ever answered that correctly."

"Well, kupo, now I get to go" he said. He thought long and hard for the most difficult riddle he knew.  
"I cannot be caught,

But I am easy to make,

I cannot be held,

And impossible to take,

I can fill a whole room,

Yet still leave it empty,

I can rouse peaceful spirits,

Or soothe a beast gently,

Not seen by your eyes,

I dance on your ears,

I am old beyond counting,

But shall last for all years."

The moogle heaved a little sigh after the long recitation, and waited for the sphinx's reply. It lay there regally, quietly pondering. It was still for a long time, saying nothing. Montblanc noticed its lips moving, silently wording the riddle to itself. Montblanc sat down, and started to hum to himself, but in the vast silence of the dark, the little moogle's singing filled the enormity of the place entirely.

"Ah, hah" said the sphinx triumphantly. "You gave the answer away, foolish being. The answer is music."

Montblanc jerked up, suddenly realizing his mistake, and silently berating himself.

"Well then... here is my riddle to you" purred the sphinx smugly.

"Greater than God, lower than Hell,

Rich men want it; poor men have it,

It is everywhere, but if you eat it you'll die."

-

Orchid screamed in pain as dark things, nightmare things tore at her. She struggled and fought, and finally she was thrown to the harsh, cold ground, were she squirmed away from the clutches of unknown demons.

"Are you ready to die, Flower of Arcadia" asked Elias coldly. There was a clicking of boots, and then Elias stood before her, staring down at the battered girl emotionlessly.

"Not...yet..." she said. Then she screamed as claws reached up from below and tore at her, spattering red, red blood all over. And Elias watched, not a muscle moving.

As it ended, pausing briefly between tortures, she felt something move in her pocket. Slowly taking it out, covering it with her body, she brought it up to her face where she could see, and Elias could not.

It was a small metal cage, filled with darkness and covered in twisted black vines. The keychain for Nightshade. She watched as little buds, black then fading to a deep purple, twitched erratically on the vines. Blood dripped down from her face, her arms, and fell on the cage, into the darkness. And the buds bloomed.

They were beautiful, crimson flowers, the color of blood. Like miniature roses, they bloomed along the vine, and the darkness seemed to intensify within the cage. Pulling the keyblade up, she stumbled to her feet, grinning.

"What are you smiling about" asked Elias, without a hint of curiosity.

"This" she grinned crookedly, blood trailing down her face. She deftly switched the keychains on the keyblade and the change was immediate. There was a flash of light, and when it was gone, so was the Mage Bloom. Now, instead of vibrant green vines were deathly slick black ones, the haft dark as midnight. The crystals in the handgaurd were now replaced by sharp black thorns. And the Mage Bloom, the awesome and powerful multicolored flower, was gone. In its place was a singe blood red rose. She whispered its name softly, there in the dark. "The Devil's Rose."

"No..." hissed Elias.

"Here in the darkness...who is the master"

-

_I cannot believe this victory,_ growled Catoblepas. _Not in a million years would I see my brood defeated._

"You aren't thinking of weaseling out of our bet, are you" asked Arc, anger tinging his voice.

_What do you take me for, a human?_ asked the beast increduously. _A deal is a deal. You may have one blow to strike me dead. And if you don't?_

"Then we fight" grinned Arc, rubbing his injured shoulder. "A fight in which I would gladly die, against such an opponent."

_So be it._

It kneeled down before him on its front legs, laying its head down so that it was on the ground.

_One blow, mortal,_ said Catoblepas.

"That's all it'll take" grinned Arc as he walked up. He stood for a bit, staring at the monster's head as if he were an artist considering a blank canvas.

_What are you doing, mortal?_ it asked impatiently.

"I'm drawing a couple lines from your eyes to your ears..."

-

Montblancs mind was racing. He wasn't coming up with anything. He couldn't find _any_ answer that fit the riddle. What could rich men men want that poor men had? Freedom? It could work, but how was that lower than Hell? And it was poisonous, wasn't it? If you eat it you die. And what's everywhere? Air, but both rich and poor men had air. He just couldn't figure it out.

"Well" asked the sphinx, licking its lips. "Do you have an answer"

"I have nothing" he shouted. Or at least, he meant to shout. In his state of panic, the only thing decipherable in the highpitched squeak that came from him was "Nothing"

The sphinx hissed and growled, clawing at the air in frustration.

"No" it roared. "No, how could you"

It breathed angrily, then slowly calmed down, regaining its regal composure.

"Fine. I still have some more tricks for you. Ask your riddle."

Montblanc, barely recovering from the shock of actually getting it right, quickly searched his mind for something. All the riddles he had gathered were too simple for a mind like that of the sphinx's. He thought and thought, then finally had an epiphany. The sphinx had started them off, setting down the rules and how to play. As long as they played by its rules, Montblanc could never win. It had only said riddles, not what kind. He smiled delightedly.

"Okay, then" he said confidently.

"On the way to Babylon, I came across five wagons headed past me. Each had five banners, each with five symbols. In each wagon was five men, each dressed in five colors. Each man had five dogs, and each dog had five bowls. How many living beings were headed to Babylon"

The sphinx stared at him, then smiled.

"I never did say what kind of riddle, did I" it grinned. "Of course, this takes no wit at all. Just mathematics, such easy, logical stuff. You must really be on your last leg if you're trying something so easy to solve. I just have to mutiply the numbers and I'm done."

Montblanc watched smugly, trying not to smile too much as the sphinx's lips moved, mentally working it out in its head.

"Five wagons...banners don't matter...twenty-five men...so one-hundred and twenty-five dogs... so add them together..." the sphinx purred and smiled. "One-hundred and fifty, puny being."

"Wrong."

"What" shrieked the Sphinx.

"The answer is one. I'm the only one headed to Babylon" smiled Montblanc.

The sphinx jumped to its feet and looked about wildly as there was shimmer, outlining a bubble around it, then it faded and was gone. The barrier protecting it was gone.

"I'll kill you" screamed the creature, pouncing at him.

"You can try" said Montblanc, a smile on his lips and a spell on his tongue.

-

"Terror no longer" said Orchid. She held the Devil's Rose aloft. "Nightmare"

Suddenly, Elias was engulfed in shrieking, tearing darkness. It gathered, and tore, and bit, and slashed, and still it grew. The darkness so black, that the emptimess around them seemed bright by comparison. Then it exploded outwards, and the nightmare ended. The darkness shattered, and it was over.

They were back in Hollow Bastion. It was dark, but nothing compared to the darkness that they had just endured. Montblanc looked a bit scuffled, but not too much worse for the wear. Arc was bleeding from his shoulder, but his grin said that he had succeeded in whatever he had done. And Orchid stared at the battered, ragged form of Elias.

"You..." he said slowly, his voice tinged with rage. He raised his hand. And then he snapped. "Magi"

Orchid cried out as fire burst up around her. Suddenly, the flames ended, and jagged shards of ice slammed up from beneath her, then crunched together, fusing and sealing her in. Then lighning came crashing down and up, shattering the ice. Orchid screamed in pain and fell to the floor, burning, freezing, tingling, and just hurting in general.

"Now...you see? I still am more powerful" said Elias, cackling and straightening up. "You cannot win."

"Like hell"

Arc's fist slammed into the right side of Elias's face, and the man went flying. He crashed into a wall, then slumped down. Stumbling to his feet, he raised a hand to his face. There was a hairline fracture in the white half mask he wore. And from it dribbld blood, dark as to almost be black.

"I'll kill you" he shrieked, charging forwards.

"Tornado" shouted Montblanc. Hurricane wind came flying from him, lifting Elias's thin body off the ground and pinning it to the wall behind him. Struggle as he might, he could not move until the spell finished, dropping him on the ground. When he looked up, he was looking up the haft of the keyblade.

"It's over, Elias" stated Orchid calmly. Then she jabbed down.

There was a flash of light, a swirl of dark, and when it was over, the keyblade hit nothing but the wall behind.

-

The doors to the laboratory slammed open, letting in the disheveled and bloody form of Elias.

"You, Eriks, what are you doing here" he raged. He ran over, brushing past the Heartless assistants and grabbing the boy roughly by the shoulder and spinning him around. "I thought I told you _never_ to come in here"

"_Calm yourself, Elias,_" said Eriks softly, his voice echoing strangely, as if he spoke over himself. His eyes glowed brightly in the dim light. "_I am not who you think I am._"

"M-m-master..." he stuttured, taking his hand back as if it had been burned and backing away. "I'm s-sorry, I had no idea..."  
"_Of course not,_" said Eriks smugly. Then he walked over to the limp forms of Riku and Leon, hanging side by side on the wall. "_The Gray One cannot be readied in time without destroying it. I am having them move it _there_, Elias. But as for these two..._"

He slammed his hands down on their heads, gripping them tightly.

"_Give in._"

-

There, in his private world of pain, Riku had been going numb. He had cut off his thinking mind from all the pain, disconnected himself. But suddenly, the barrier was gone. Every wound bled anew, ever sore burned like it was fresh, every trauma branded itself into his mind again. Memories, like shards of glass, dug their way into his skull, relentlessly stabbing. He screamed, and screamed again. Every body of his cell, every thought of his mind burned with pain. He retched and twisted and arched in agony. He would do anything, _anything_ at all to stop the pain. Then there was nothing but pain. There was no thoughts of escape. No wonderings of how long. No thoughts of how to avoid the pain. No thoughts of how much it hurt. No person called Riku. Just pain, pure and simple. All embracing pain.

And then a voice.

_Give in._

Tears streamed from burning eyes, and cracked lips slowly formed one word.

"Yes."

-

A man stood, in the middle of nowhere. He no longer could recall who he was. What he was. Why he was here. Where here was. It didn't matter. For as long as he could remember, there was nothing. Only nothing. Something moved at the back of his mind. Maybe... there was someone called... Squall... a place called... home... but the memory quickly faded. There was nothing.

And then a voice.

_Give in._

He didn't know what it meant. But it was better than this awful, empty nothing.

"Yes."

-

Eriks drew back, eyes glowing satisfactorily. Then he turned to Elias.

"_They are _mine_, now,_" he grinned. "_And as for you..._"

He strode up, and Elias stood, frozen by fear. Eriks's hand reached up and grasped the white half mask.

"_Time for this to go,_" he said. Then he pulled it off. "_Goodbye, Elias. Hello, Malias._"

Then there was a horrible shrieking, and the man named Elias was no more.

"_Now, go destroy the Keblade Master,_" he said to the creature that stood before him. It nodded, then disappeared. He smiled and turned to the wall. The chains binding the two captives snapped off, and they fell to the floor on their feet, eyes wide open. "_I have a door to open. Come, Leon. Come, Riku._"

He walked towards the door to the hall, followed by the blank eyed servants who were quickly rearmed and redressed by the assitants.

"But, Master" rasped the head assistant. "I thought that a keyblade was required for that"

Eriks grinned.

"_What do you think _this_ is?_"

The Heartless shrieked momentarily, then was gone. Where it had been, a long, white blade pierced the wall with its tip. The handle had angel wing handguards that surrounded the boy's gloved hand, and the long haft was of the palest white. Just before the end was a beautiful, exquisite wing, carved delicately out of the same gleaming white material as the haft. And the end was white also, and pointed. It was shaped like a heart.

"_The Keyblade of Heart, Light,_" he smiled. "_How fitting._"

And then he laughed.


	51. To Hell

Meh: short chapter. I spent some time rereading the story. Thought it would help inspire me, but it didn't. I really just didn't have any cool ideas for the Malias fight. Damn, really gonna have to take a break between HB's end and the End of the World. Hmm...I hope I can make the next fight cool, or that'll be a real disappointment.

* * *

-

"The Grand Hall is just ahead" shouted Arc as they raced down the hallway. Suddenly he stopped. "What was that"  
"What was what" asked Orchid as she and Montblanc caught up with him.

"That, over there" he said. pointing. Before them, the air warped like heat waves, but darker, then went back to normal.

"I don't know, kupo..." said Montblanc, peering at the space intently.

"Whatever it is..." said Orchid, watching as the air warped again"it can't be good."

The rift expanded, then everything was gone.

-

"Welcome to my realm, Keyblade Master."

There in the hellishly half-lit darkness, the rumbling voice came from a large, hunched over figure. It straightened before them, standing tall, roughly three times as high as Arc. It had twisted horns that stuck up from its head, and long, silky black hair. Its eyes were narrow and small, and its mouth was a snarling grin. Its naked body was white, though its limbs were darkest black. In the middle of its chest was an enormous eye, that stared and watched their every move. From its back sprouted two enormous double jointed wings. And in its hand it held a blade, long and thick, the color of blood. Behind it was large door, larger than the creature was, decorated with skeletal gatekeepers upon it. The thing stared at the trio with red flaring eyes.

"Who are you" asked Orchid nervously, keyblade held before her.

"I was once Elias" it said. "But now, I have been released from that prison of a body. I am Malias."

"I don't care who you are, just get out of our way" growled Arc.

"I think not" smiled the demon. "Behind me are the gates to Hell. Is that what you want"

The trio backed away a little, and Malias smiled. It was not a comforting sight.

"Now...die."

The demon charged forwards, swinging his enormous sword. Orchid and Arc dodged to the side, while Montblanc took cover as he prepared his spells. Dodging the second swing, Orchid charged forwards, then leapt into the air and struck at his arm with the Devil's Rose. Arc set upon the opposite leg, only to be swept back by a furious sideswipe of the sword, the flat of the blade knocking him away. Then, tiring of Orchid's assault on its arm, Malias turned and spewed fire at her, and she leapt back and landed on the ground.

"Fira" shouted Montblanc. Malias cried out in anguish as the fireball struck the giant eye at his center, stumbling back momentarily, limbs flailing wildly. Then he turned, and struck out at the moogle, who barely managed to dodge the gargantuan blade. "Go for the eye, kupo"

"Right" shouted Orchid, leaping up. "Shooting Star"

She swung the keyblade and let it fly out, striking and knocking away Malias's arm and flying back to her hand.

"Strike"

The blade struck his other arm away.

"Strike"

Malias roared in pain as they keyblade crashed into his face, sending him stumbling back.

"Strike! Strike! Strike"

Three more successive strikes blasted away at the flaring eye in the middle of his chest, and an unearthly cry of rage filled the cavern.

"Wish"

The keyblade fully charged, Orchid pointed it at the demon, and a violent beam of light shot out from it, striking him square in the chest, straight in the burning eye.

The girl suddenly found her self being swatted out of the air. She struck the ground hard, bouncing off the rock and slamming into the wall. As she groaned and turned, stumbling to her feet, she watched as the demon proceeded to scream in fury and knock away Montblanc and Arc. Then the eye, the great flaring eye, still smoldering from her attack, blinked. And when it opened, it was not an eye. It was a gaping maw, protruding sharp fangs from every angle.

"Abyss" roared Malias. Darkness swelled in the open mouth, then shot out like an avenging wave. Black engulfed the cavern, filling every bit of it, tearing at the trio harshly, shrieking in their ears and blinding their eyes. Wherever it touched, pain flared like burning flames. And no place was left untouched.

Arc heaved with labored breath as it ended, barely still on his feet. Montblanc was starting to stand, a barrier of air around him, while Orchid was struggling to rise. As those two cast Cura on themselves, Arc charged forwards, then leapt up.

"Planet Diver" he shouted. Unnatural flames burst out around him, then he slammed down, sword first, at Malias. He struck the demon in the shoulder, black blood spraying up around his sword and burning his skin where it touched. Screaming out in pain, Malias turned and struck out at him, sweeping him away with his arm.

"Halo" he shouted. A circle of light formed around Arc, spinning around him, then suddenly closing in on the warrior. Arc cried out in pain as it snapped in on him, exploding in a flash of blinding brilliance.

"Leave him alone" shouted Orchid. "Bio"

A cloud of green gas exploded in the gaping maw in the demon's chest, leaving gelatinous slime that sizzled and trailed down his body. Malias hissed in agony, backing away. The mouth closed, and when it opened, the eye was back.

"Curse you" he spat, raising his sword. Then he charged forwards.

"Thundara" cried Montblanc. Lightning crashed down from above, striking Malias, but it barely fazed him. "Deluge, Tornado, Blizzara, Fira"

Spells shrieked through the air, tearing the skin from the demon's muscles, but doing nothing to slow his charge. The little moogle squeaked pitifully as one clawed hand came down and smacked him away, and he crashed into the wall, crumpling to the floor pitifully. Malias charged on past, then swung down at Orchid with his giant blade.

The crash practically shattered the air as the sword and keyblade met. Orchid held the key above her, supporting it with both hands as Malias weighed down with his great blade. Then the giant eye flared, and fire exploded around the girl, and she went flying back. Malias leaped up and over, landing behind her, quickly turning and stricking out with his sword again. Orchid went flying through the air and crashed hard against the gates that had been behind Malias. The demon walked slowly over.

"Now, you die, Keyblade Master" he snarled.

"Not if I can help it" shouted Arc. He slammed into the demon's back, slicing savagely at him with his sword and beating mercilessly with his shield. Malias roared in anger and pain as he turned to face him.

"Crucifix" he hissed. A blindingly white cross slammed up from the ground behind Arc. Chains of light sprung out and bound his arms and body to it, burning him, searing his skin. He screamed out in agony as Malias smiled sadistically.

"Malias"

The demon turned to see Orchid standing, leaning against the gateway, keyblade in hand.

"You shouldn't be here" she said quietly. "Go to Hell."  
She spun around and struck the keyblade into the door, then slowly turned it.

"No" screamed Malias. "What are you doing"  
"Sending you home" she answered. Then there was a loud click, and the gates to Hell were opened.

-

After that, she couldn't remember anything until they woke up on the floor in front of the doors to the Great Hall. She vaguely recalled a blade, and chains, and some presence far beyond anything she could comprehend, but it was mostly a blank from the time she opened the door to the time the three of them stumbled to their feet back in Hollow Bastion.

"Kupopo...what happened" asked Montblanc, shaking his head.

"Ugh...I'm not...sure" said Arc.

"It doesn't matter" assured Orchid as she walked over to the doors. "What does matter is beyond these doors. The last keyhole is beyond these doors."

But that wasn't what she was thinking. Only one thing mattered to her.

Eriks was beyond those doors.


	52. Keyblade of World, Heart Reborn

Been a while: Well, been a bit occupied with KoTOR II, reading, Monster Rancher Advance 2, and making an FLCL AMV, but it's finally here, the next chapter. Finally, a revalation of who the Master is, also explaining the random remeniscing in the chapter at the end of Wonderland. Well, hope you like it.

* * *

-

"_So you've made it this far, have you?_"

Eriks smiled as they walked up the aisle towards him. He stood on the platform before the great portal, the still figures of Riku and Leon at his side. Riku, silver-haired and aqua-blue eyed, was in a long black trenchcoat and tight black pants, with dark shirt and matching black boots. Leon's outfit was similar, though his jacket was shorter than his waist and his shirt was white. His blue eyes stared coldly out from his long brown hair.

"You're not Eriks," said Orchid flatly. "Who are you?"

"_So soon forgot me, Orchid? I'm hurt,_" he sighed. Then he grinned maliciously, and pointed the keyblade at her as the trio came to a halt just before the platform he stood on. "_It doesn't matter who I am, nor does it matter that you have the keyblade now. Or should I say, _a_ keyblade?_"

"What do you mean?" she demanded.

"_These papers here detail it all,_" he said, waving a sheaf of notes that he had pulled from his jacket. "_My studies, Ansem's studies, Elias's studies. All of it in here. You really know so little._"

He laughed, the flung his arm up, the papers scattering about the room wildly.

"_None of that matters anymore. Through this portal, I shall open the door of darkness, and walk into Kingdom Hearts. I shall have power to do whatever I wish with the universe. Because I have the Princesses of Heart... and this,_" he said, brandishing the white winged blade he held. "_The Keyblade of Heart, Light. The twin of this boy's predecessor's blade._"

There was a shimmering as a dark keyblade, black and hooked at the end, formed in Riku's hands. The young man smiled evilly, and slashed the air before him experimentally.

"_With me weilding this key, I will unlock to the door to power unstoppable!_" roared Eriks, his voice double-layered and maniacal.

"Do you think we'll just let you do that?" growled Arc, pushing up his shades. "I'll kill you first, little punk."

"_Annoying,_" noted Eriks, looking at Arc for the first time. The white keyblade vanished, and he pointed his hands at Arc and Montblanc, who had just finished discreetly gathering the strewn about papers. "_Disappear, into the Never-Ending Sky._"

The Guardian and the Mage became as dust, and then were gone.

"What did you do to them?" demanded Orchid.

"_I destroyed them, returned them to nothing,_" Eriks lied easily. "_Now it's just you._"

"Why...why are you doing this?" she asked, her head lowered and body trembling with barely contained rage.  
"_I do it for power beyond your wildest dreams,_" he replied. "_When all hearts return to the one great heart, Kingdom Hearts will open, and I will be there when it happens, and all that power will be mine._" He paused, then sighed and looked at her. "_But first, come up here. I want to be face to face with you when I tell you the truth._"

Orchid bit back a snappy response, then walked to the right, up one of the set of stairs leading onto the platform. She really didn't have any choice given the situation.

She walked over, trying her best to ignore the standing forms of Riku and Leon, and faced a body that had once belonged to her best friend. The eyes were different she saw, now that she was up close. They were almost entirely black, with gleaming specks in them. She only knew one person with eyes like that.

Eriks smiled, seeing the recognition in her eyes. "_Now, do you see? It's me. That two-bit magician. Morpheus, the King of Dreams. The very man who used to do magic shows in Arcadia. Poor, little Arcadia._"

"So this is what you've been up to these past four years?" asked Orchid calmly.

"_Yes,_" he grinned. "_And now that you know the whole story, this is where it ends for you._"

He turned away from her, then walked up to the heart shaped portal. He raised his arm, gleaming white keyblade in hand, then struck it into the middle. Seven rays of light shot out from behind him, in the hall, and struck the gateway. And then it was open. The door of darkness was open. Morpheus smiled with his stolen face, then stepped through the swirling doorway and was gone. But not before saying one last thing.

"_Kill her._"

-

He walked through paths that he had not seen for four years. He carried no weapon, yet the Heartless trembled before him and ran. He had a purpose, and nothing would stop him. His time was coming, so now he had returned to Hollow Bastion. He smiled.

Soon, he would be powerless no more.

-

Orchid backed cautiously away as Leon and Riku approached her. Their eyes were strange, empty-looking, as if possessed. Which is what she more or less figured.

She dodged back as Riku swung out at her with the dark keyblade, parrying a few of the strikes with her own, but mainly fighting a defensive battle as she retreated. She looked back as her legs bumped into something, and found she was backed against the railing that surrounded the platform.

"Oh..."

She gasped as an arm shot out and a strong hand grasped her throat. It was Leon, who had come up from the side while she watched Riku. He easily picked her up and held her over the edge as she struggled to break his hold.

"Let her go!"

Orchid tried to turn her head to see who had spoke, then suddenly found herself hurling through the air. She slammed hard into the carpeted floor of the Great Hall, tumbling and rolling to a halt at the speaker's feet. She looked up in surprise.

"Sora?"

The young man, eyes set and expression grim, stood above her, glaring menacingly at the two on the platform before him. One arm shot out to the side, hand open as Orchid slowly got to her feet.

"The keyblade. Now," he said flatly.

There was a shimmering, then something appeared in his hand, and he grasped it firmly. It was his keyblade. It was of medium length, white and delicate looking, but Orchid knew that it was strong. The blade portion was an ornate white star, similar to the star keychain that hung off it.

"Oathkeeper," sighed Sora softly, as he held the blade before him, almost reverentially. Something seemed to vastly change about the boy, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he was filled with new life. "The Keyblade of World, Heart, is back."

"But...does that mean...?" asked Orchid, still in shock from the sudden appearance of Sora and the keyblade. She held out her hand and concentrated. She felt deep inside her, and then she found it. The air shimmered, and the Devil's Rose was held in her grasp once more. "So... this is what Merlin meant. The Keyblade of World is complete."

Riku sneered derisively at them, and swung his dark keyblade threateningly in their direction. "It matters not. Be it one frail girl alone, or her and a broken keybearer, they still cannot triumph over us. The Lion-hearted will crush you, and I, the servant of the darkness will break you, and together, we shall bring you before our master, and you, just as I do, shall serve him down the endless centuries. And with the keyblades of Heart and World, all hearts shall return to the one great heart, and the doors of Light and Dark shall open unto our master, and the power of all Kingdom Hearts shall be ours. Then nothing shall stand in our way."

Sora laughed, a short, mocking thing that shattered the oppressive silence of the Great Hall.

"I will never give in, and neither will she, for we are stronger than fool puppets of a ghost in a stolen body. Be it Ansem of the Dark, or the Lady of the Light, or the King of Dreams himself, I will stand before him, and I will win." He smiled, and pointed the keyblade at his long time rival, his one time enemy, and his all time best friend. "Cling to your illusions if you must, but know that with this key, I will unlock the chains that bind those you've hurt, the locks that seal the hearts you've stolen, and the very bonds that bind you to your master. I cast my defiance into the teeth of the Lion-hearted, I cast my defiance into your teeth, servant of darkness, and even more, I cast my defiance in the teeth of him who is your master, but _never_ mine."

And Riku screamed with rage, and all the world shook with his fury.

-

Morpheus closed his stolen eyes and held his arms open wide, as if in supplication to some higher being. He smiled.

"_Now, Kingdom Hearts, by darkness and by light, I offer these hearts of nations, worlds, and peoples, to return to you, the one great heart, that you may open upon me and grant me your power. By light and by dark, I offer myself. A sacrifice from myself, of myself, to myself. Open, and let your secrets be mine._"

-

The keyblades clashed fiercely as Riku leapt down and lunged at Sora. The brunette young man blocked, then pushed his silver haired opponent back and swung in with a counterattack.

"You take care of Leon," he told Orchid as Oathkeeper clashed off the dark heart keyblade. "Riku is mine."

Orchid nodded, then ran up the stairs to the left onto the platform where the hard eyed swordsman stood.

"You should have stayed home," warned Leon coldly as he drew the gunblade. It glimmered brightly in the light as he slashed at her.

"I've heard a lot about you," said Orchid, dodging back. "But working with the Heartless? This isn't you."

"Me, or not me, this is all there is. I would take anything over that endless nothing."

He struck out again, and the time for words was over.

-

"Riku, you've got to shake this," urged Sora as he neatly blocked his friend's blow and leapt back. "You're being controlled!"

"I don't care," snarled Riku, lunging forwards with the dark keyblade, clashing hard against Oathkeeper. "I won't go back to the pain. I won't!"

Sora reeled from the blow as he fell for a feint and was struck hard in the side. He dodged away, barely avoiding a flurry of strikes.

"I've been there, Sora," he said. "All that's there for me is pain. He brought me out of that. Struggle is no more. No pain. You could have been free too, but you bind yourself with lies and false concepts, like friends and love. Those only lead to trouble." A pained look entered his eyes. For a moment, Riku looked like nothing more than just a lonely, hurt young man, abandoned by the world. "Friends leave you. Loves forget you. And then you're alone, with nothing but your pain." His eyes flared angrily and his face contorted in a grimace of rage. "I won't return to that! Never again!"

Darkness poured from him, his rage and despair unleashed, and Sora was engulfed.

-

Orchid jumped back, then rolled to the side, barely avoiding a fatal assault from Leon. He was strong, there was no doubt about that, but he was also quick, and surprisingly skilled, not just relying on brute force.

She struck out, laying out a string of blows, but was brought up short as he fired off a ball of fire at her. Orchid grunted as it struck her in the stomach, sending her back, and barely brought up the Devil's Rose in time to block his sword strike. She jumped back, then took the opportunity to aim the keyblade and start casting spells.

"Blizzara!" she shouted. Icy crystals shot out, striking the man as he charged and slowing him as frost covered his shirt and jacket. "Bio!"

Leon coughed as poisonous gas spewed forth at him, condensing into a sickly green jelly on him. It sizzled on contact, and he shook himself quickly, pausing in his attack to free himself of the acidic toxins. He stumbled, then lashed out hard as Orchid used the distraction of the poison to attack. Orchid leapt away, but not before hitting the warrior hard with the keyblade.

"It's over!" raged Leon, turning and charging at her. "Renzokuken!"

Orchid staggered back at the ferocity of of his attacks, managing to block only some of the blows, giving little cries of pain everytime the cold steel of the gunblade cut her. Leon pressed on, driving her back as he mercilessly swung with practiced ease, keeping up a steady rain of blows. He gave one final blow, flinging her back, then held the gunblade out to the side. It glowed with energy, much like the keyblade did when fully charged.

"Rough Divide!" he yelled, charging forwards. He swung his sword up, leaping as he knocked Orchid's gaurd aside, then crashing down atop her with the gunblade. Orchid barely managed to block, but the sheer power from the attack nearly crushed her, and the energy exploded violently about her.

"Fine," she panted as she quickly shuffled back away from Leon as he readied his next attack. "I have some tricks of my own, you know?"

She held the keyblade lightly in one hand and smiled.

"Moonlight Rave!"

-

Sora looked about in the darkness, trying to see where his opponent was.  
"Poor, poor Sora," said the disembodied voice. "So lost, afraid and alone."

"Where are you, Riku?" he demanded.

"Right here," whispered the voice in his ear. Sora spun about quickly, but no one was there. Only more darkness. Sora's breathing was getting faster, shallower; his eyes twitched this way and that in fear.

He jerked suddenly as something cold and firm grabbed his leg. Pulling back, silhouetted against his skin was a dark hand. A matching hand grabbed his other leg. He swung at them with the keyblade, and they disintegrated into the darkness, only to be replaced by another pair of arms that latched onto his legs. Struggling away from them, more and more pairs of arms came up, grasping his arms, wrapping around his body, cradling his head. He struggled, turning his face upwards away from the darkness as the limbs engufled him, gasping as he felt two shadow hands grasp his neck and slowly beging to crush his throat.

"There," said Riku, stepping out of the darkness to stand before his helpless enemy, "now you know what I felt. The pain, the utter helplessness, the loneliness. Know that you are at the mercy of the dark, and no one can save you but yourself. And only by giving in."

Sora's eyes were wide in agony as he tried to draw in breath. Under the layer of shadows, he gripped Oathkeeper tightly, such that his knuckles turned white with effort, while on his other hand, his fingers dug into his flesh in his fist, drawing blood.

"Do you give in?" asked Riku, walking forwards and pressing the tip of the hooked blade to his victim's throat, drawing a bead of blood, perfectly round and deep crimson.

"Never."

Then there was a flash of light.

-

"Finale!"

Explosions rang out around the Grand Hall as Orchid came to a halt behind the Lion-hearted, keyblade extended like a sword. At the exact same moment, there was a burst of light from below the platform where they fought, and darkness shot about the room, splattering the walls, dripping wetly like cold, dead blood.

"No!" screeched Riku madly, his eyes burning with a broken insanity. "You can't!"

"I can do whatever I want," seethed Sora flatly. His eyes were hard and serious, and he seemed to eminate a strange aura, as if he burned with light. "And neither you nor your master can stop me."

"Sora!" cried out Orchid happily, having been worried ever since he and Riku disappeared in darkness.

"Your fight's with me."

Orchid grunted in pain as a fist drove up hard into her stomach and she was sent tumbling across the floor. She rolled out of the way and stumbled to her feet as Leon struck out with his gunblade. Leon turned and faced her, eyes cold as ice.

"Come on, girl," he challenged. "Fight me."

Orchid ran up and struck out with the keyblade. Leon blocked, then counterattacked. She dodged, then struck again. They were soon lost in a flurry of blows, each matching each other for the other's hits. Spotting an opening, Orchid struck at Leon's side, catching him off-guard. He grunted and stumbled, and Orchid struck again, then leapt back as he swung out with his fist.

"Now it's serious!" shouted Leon, raising his sword skyward. A light flashed down and focused on the gunblade, and when it faded, his weapon was unearthly. Now well over nine feet long, the blade was a shimmering crystallization of energy. "Lionheart."

He charged forwards and struck out with it, and Orchid could not dodge the incredible reach of it in time.

-

Sora, wreathed in light, did then charge upon the servant of darkness.

"The heart is always stronger than that, if you only hold on!" he shouted as he struck at Riku again, pushing him back. He attacked savagely with Oathkeeper as Riku did his best to try to block with the dark heart keyblade.

"Never, I will _never_ go back to the pain!" he screamed as he counterattacked wildly.

Sora blocked, then struck Riku once and followed up with another blow before he could recover. "Ars Arcanum!"

He struck fiercly and quickly, landing hard blows that Riku could not block as the keyblade glowed ever and ever brighter.

"Finis!" he shouted, slashin upwards. Energy shot out in a wave of light exploding outwards and blasting Riku back in its fury.

-

"Burn in my light, and be no more," intoned Leon quietly as he walked forwards, readying the titanic gunblade for his next strike as Orchid got to her feet, coughing wetly.

"Light, huh...? How 'bout I extinguish it?" she asked. She pointed the Devil's Rose at him, darkness forming at the tip. "Nightmare!"

Dark shapes of bats, slick as sin and deep as night came flying down at the warrior, but he swept them away with slashes of his blade and sweeps of his arm, but Orchid could tell it was effective from the cuts that he recieved to his arms and face.

"Just have to take it to him," she muttered, running a hand along the length of her keyblade. Where she touched, inky dark squirming darkness formed. She held the darkly glowing blade out to her side and readied herself to charge. "Nightmare Rave!"  
She blurred out of sight, and darkness exploded across Leon's body as she came back in to focus behind him.

"Step!"

She disappeard again, and Leon grunted and stumbled as dark stains struck out across his side.

"Step!"

He gasped for breath as the wind was knocked out of him, slick darkness clinging to him.

"Step! Step! Step!"

Controlled strikes sent him stumbling back towards the railing, then flying up into the air out from the platform, tearing darkness clinging harshly to him. Orchid blurred into view above him, keyblade glowing deep black.

"Screaming Finale!"

Explosions of darkness rang out around Leon and his gunblade faltered, then resumed its metallic form as he crashed to the ground in front of Riku, Orchid landing on the opposite side of him lightly. She turned adn faced them, Sora on the opposite side of the pair. He nodded to her.

"It's time to end this," she said.

"Time to free you," said Sora. "And the princesses."

"What? No, you can't!" yelled Riku desperately. "I won't go back!"

"You don't have to go back," reassured Sora. "Come with me, and nothing shall ever harm you, as long as we are together."

"Sora..." breathed Riku softly. Then he shook his head, and the madness burned once more in his eyes. "No, you lie!"

"Then we do this the hard way," sighed Orchid. She readied her keyblade as Sora readied his.

"Keyblades of Worlds!"

"Heart!" shouted Sora.

"Life!" proclaimed Orchid.

"By Light and by Dark, unlock and free!"

-

She blinked. The world came into focus slowly, and she faintly realized that she was lying on the floor. She tried to remember why. What was happening? The last thing she remembered was stepping through the door...

"Kairi!"

She rolled over onto her stomach and slowly got up. Her body felt weak and ungainly. She was on the floor of some hall, made of stone, but richly carpeted. Like a castle...

"Kairi, are you alright?" asked a familiar voice as arms gently embraced her, helping her up.

"Unh...Sora?" she asked faintly.

"Yeah, it's me," he said as his face came into focus, blue eyes concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I...I..."

And then it was black again.

-

"I think she's okay," said Sora, cradling Kairi gently in his arms. They had just released her from her stasis in the Great Hall. "But still weak. We have to get her out of here."

"What about the others?" asked Orchid. "And these two?" She pointed over at the limp forms of Riku and Leon. "And Arc and Montblanc...did...did he really?"

"No," said Sora, turning and facing her. "No, it was an illusion, and a banishment spell. Even if he is who I think he is, that boy doesn't have that kind of power. He may have been saying the words to the forbidden spell, but I can assure you he didn't cast it. No, it was just an illusion."

He held Kairi up in one arm, then summoned the keyblade in his free hand. He pointed it upwards, then turned it. There was an audible click.

"Woah!"

Arc and Montblanc tumbled out of thin air to land in a clumsy heap on the floor.

"Kupo...where are we?" asked Montblanc, rubbing his head.

"Montblanc! Arc!" cried Orchid, running over and hugging them tightly. "I was so afraid that..."

"We were dead?" asked Arc bluntly. "Same here. Floating about in nothing sure is damn boring."

"Hey, can we get going?" asked Sora. "We're battered and bloody, and we have several people to get out of here."

"Are we taking them all?" aske Orchid.

"No, just Kairi, Riku, and Leon. Once we free the other Princesses of Heart, they can stay in the Chapel or Library, and the Heartless can't touch them anyway."

Arc slung Riku over one shoulder and helped Orchid lift up Leon. Sora carried the unconcsious Kairi carefully in his arms.

"Well, let's go."

-

Orchid sighed and stared out the window of the gummi ship as Montblanc healed her. She watched as Hollow Bastion receded in the distance, and they followed Sora's ship back to Traverse Town.

"I'll be back for you later, Eriks," she said quietly. "I promise."


	53. Judgment Lotus

Shorty: Yeah, filler chapter that I really couldn't drag out any longer. Ah, well. It's just a bit in Traverse Town. Anyways, we got a new keyblade. Only two more after this one. And a new combo. Second to last one. Aaaand... KoTOR II is totally kick ass. Anyways, R&R

* * *

-

"Are they awake yet?"

It had been a few days since they got back to Traverse Town. Kairi was already moving about on her own, but Riku and Leon had both yet to do anything more than lie like dead things in their beds. It worried Sora, and he wished he could help, even though Aerith assured him there was nothing to do but wait and see.

She shook her head sadly. "They're stable, so they aren't getting worse, but they don't seem to be getting noticably better."

Sora sighed, then walked off down the hall. Currently, the gang was once more holed up in the house near the Third District entrance, and it had quickly changed from empty to homely in a short period of time since he left. He passed Cloud on the way to the main room, not surprising since he seemed to show up whenever Aerith was alone. In the main room, Zell and Arc were talking as Rikku hung onto the white-coated blonde, pestering him with questions as Yuffie conversed with Orchid and Montblanc. He flopped onto the couch with a sigh, resting his head on the arm rest, and closed his eyes. His brilliant blues snapped wide open and he tensed slightly as a pair of arms wrapped around him, then relaxed as he recognized the feel of the hands that caressed his face.

"My, aren't we serious today?" asked Kairi from where she knelt next to the couch behind his head, arms wrapped firmly about him. She smiled at his upside-down face as he looked at her, then sighed and relaxed.

"I guess," admitted Sora. "I mean... I just sort of thought... that after we went to Hollow Bastion, it would all be finished up, finally. Well, I didn't really think that... based on last time... and there's still that guy in the portal." He sighed. "I just hoped it would end when we brought Riku back, and we could all smile again. But Riku's not any better... possibly worse... and the Heartless are stronger than ever. Now, even Shadowless roam about freely."

"Don't worry," assured Kairi. "Things will work out."

Just then, the door slammed open, and Cid came in, followed by another man with blond hair and a gruff face.

"Hey, look who I found, guys," said Cid Randell, former Judgemaster.

"Oh, it's you guys," groaned the other man.

"Cid!" exclaimed Sora, shooting up in his seat. "Cid Highwind!"

"What, really?" asked Zell, turning around in his chair.

"Of course it's me, who'd you think it was?" he answered. "I heard you were all in a bit of a slump, so thought I'd drop by."

"Don't believe him," said the spiky bearded Cid. "It just so happened that me and some other guys saved his butt when he was getting chased by Heartless ships just out of Traverse Town. Looks like he's been on the run for quite some time."

"Aw, man, it's great to see you, Cid," said Sora, walking over and shaking Highwind's hand enthusiastically.

"What's all the noise about?" asked Cloud as he came walking in with Aerith. "Hmm? Cid? Hey, where've you been?"

"Just playing tag with the Heartless, Spikey," replied the man sardonically. "You been having fun here?"

"So you're the Cid Sora knew?" asked Orchid curiously.

"No, I'm Ansem, can't you tell?" replied Cid drily. "Of course I am! How many damn times is everyone gonna ask me the same damn questions?"

"Yeah, he's kind of explosive in that way," cautioned Yuffie. "Tip of advice, try to stay out of his workspace. I swear, touch one thing and he'll kill you."

"Oh, the thief. Looks like the gang's all here," noted Highwind. "Well, to start things off, I'm sure what you need is a route to Hollow Bastion, right?"

"Right," said Arc. "But the way's cut off, too many Heartless swarming the Gate, there's no way we'd survive it."

"Well, that's where I come in," said Cid. "Just so happens, I've got a whole slew of Navi-G's, all mapping out warpholes in space. And there's one I bet everyone, including the Heartless, forgot about. It goes right into the castle's back door."

"Hey, isn't that the one I used?" asked Sora curiously.

"Same exact one," confirmed Highwind. "It'll let right into the place so you can put a stop to all this nonsense."

"That's great," said Orchid excitedly. "Time to raid Hollow Bastion!"

"Woah there, I don't think more than one ship could possibly slip by unnoticed," cautioned the man.

"Okay..." pondered the girl. "Well, in one ship, we can probably fit me, Arc, Montblanc, and Sora... yeah, that'd work, right?"

"Sounds about right," shrugged Cid Randell.

"You're good to go as soon as I get the Navi-G installed into your Gummi ship," said the other Cid. "I'll get right on it." He left the house, headed for the gummi garage.

"Finally, we can end all this," sighed Orchid, flopping down on the couch.

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Sora dubiously, sitting back down next to her with Kairi.

"Well, if we're gonna go, we should get prepared," said Arc, getting up. He walked over and out the door. "I'm gonna go buy us some supplies."

"Oh, and I should get those papers to Merlin," kupoed Montblanc, following him out.  
"Is there anything we can do?" Orchid asked Cid Randell, who had settled down at the table.

"Not that I can think of," he said. Then he got up and walked over to her. "But... there is something _I_ can do." He stopped before her. "Can I see the two keychains you have?"

"Uh, sure," said Orchid. She summoned the keyblade and took out the Mage Bloom chain, then also removed the chain for Devil's Rose and handed both keychains to him.

"Let's see... I think..." muttered Cid as he held the chains in his hands. They began to glow, and he slowly brought his hands together. Suddenly, there was a brilliant light, like that of a newborn sun, and then it was gone. In his hand he held a new keychain. It was a silver cross on a bright metal chain. Entwined about it were vines of black and green, the black sprouting little red roses and the green sprouting little purple blooms. He handed it back to her, and she held it carefully. "Well, try it on."

Orchid nodded, then clipped the new keychain onto the loop of the Glass Rose as everyone in the room, even Yuffie and Rikku, watched expectantly.

The change happened swiftly. Green handguard vines were inlaid with silver, and shining crosses appeared delicately on each and every razor sharp leaf around it. And the Glass Rose, in all its flawless beauty, was replaced by something for more perfect in its simplicity. Where once was a crystaline bloom, white petals, pointed, yet not threatening, soft, yet absolute stood. It radiated its own personal aura of power.

"The Judgment Lotus," said Orchid softly. The others also stared in wonder until the trance slowly wore off. "It's the combined powers of the Mage Bloom and the Devil's Rose. And something more."

"What do you mean, more?" asked Zell.

"A new spell," she explained. "Flare."

"That's powerful magic there," said Cid. "Be careful where you point that thing."

"Coolies, Orchid's got a new toy!" squealed Rikku happily.

"Have I ever mentioned your even worse than me?" asked Yuffie.

"Well, Oathkeeper's good enough for me," said Sora. He smiled over at Kairi. "It's very special to me, for some reason."

"Mm...that's nice," she smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder.

-

"Hey, before you go, one thing."

"Yeah?" asked Orchid, turning back to face Cloud as she walked up the stairs into the Gummi ship.

"Take this," he said. He tossed something round and shining up to her and she caught it easily. It shone bright like the sun, yellow and warm, yet somewhat harsh, golden, yet dangerous. "You'll probably need it." And then he left, without another word.

Orchid shrugged, then absorbed the energy. It wasn't a magic, she could tell that much, so she assumed it was a combo of some sort, like Moonlight Rave or Meteor Barrage. Whatever it was, she was sure she'd get a chance to try it in Hollow Bastion. She walked into the cockpit, then settled into her seat.

"We all ready?" asked Sora.

"Ready as ever," said Arc as he started the ship up. "We cleared, Cid?"

"Cleared to go," Highwind's voice crackled over the intercom. "Now get the hell out there and kick some ass!"

"Then we're off, kupo!" squeaked Montblanc.

"Back to Hollow Bastion," said Sora.

Orchid just sighed. They were on their way. On their way to finally face him. She wondred what worried her most. Facing someone that she had idolized for years, and how power unimaginable, or facing her best friend in real combat? She wished that it wouldn't come down to that, but she knew it would. In the end, she would stand alone against them.

"Eriks..." she whispered softly.


	54. Inside the Door to Darkness

Finally: La cool chapter. It took a while, but KoTOR II was quite distracting. Anyways, enjoy.

* * *

-

Inside the portal, colors swirled about like a rainbow gotten out of hand. Brilliant hues blended and blurred around her, dazzling her eyes with darkened light and lightened dark. And in the middle of it all, he stood.

She gripped the keyblade tighter, and took a step forwards.

"So, you are alone," came the double-voice, both so familiar. Eriks's body turned to face her, eyes not his own. "Did your friends leave you, as all friends inevitably do? Abandon you to your hopeless fate?"

"No," she stated calmly. "They did not. They did the greatest thing friends can do; they gave themselves up for my sake. Even as we speak, they risk their very lives just so I can be here, so that I have a chance. And it won't be a chance I will waste."

"A chance?" he asked. "If you mean a chance to live, you lost that the moment you returned to the castle." He smiled mockingly at her. "And if you mean a chance to stop me... well, that never existed in the first place."

He stepped towards her, white winged keyblade in hand.

"So... what is it that you want?" he questioned her. "My death? Your home? The release of your friend?"

"I want... the truth," she said simply. "What is this all about?"

"Ah, the truth," he said. "You want to know why I do this. Can't you simply believe I do it out of sheer maliciousness and lust for power?"

"No."

"Well then. Alright."

He told her the truth. She listened. And when he was done, she sighed.  
"Do you still wish to stop me?" he asked.  
"Yes."

"So be it."

It's hard to kill your best friend.

-

Infiltration.

They had gotten to the actual world of Hollow Bastion easily enough. The warphole had been almost entirely unguarded, and the few Heartless ships patrolling the area had been easily taken care of. They landed in one of the hangars at the back of the castle using access codes that Cid Highwind had given them, and slipped in unnoticed. Now, getting to the throne room would be the next bit of trouble.

-

Ascension.

The four of them had been of two minds on how best to get to the throne room. While Montblanc and Orchid had opted for stealth, Arc and Sora had volunteered a more direct solution, that is, methodically exterminating each Heartless and Shadowless on the level before moving on. Eventually, they agreed on trying to sneak by, but terminating any enemy that got in their way before it could raise the alarm. It worked well, up to a point.

Air soldiers proved more than adept at running away. It only took one to alert the entire castle.

It was at the Grand Crest that Lord Mousseux made his stand.

"You guys go on ahead," said Arc, stopping as the others ran on. "I'll delay these guys."

"No, Arc!" shouted Orchid. "You can't-!"

"Come on," said Sora, grabbing her arm and pulling her on. "He's buying us time, and you're wasting it if you try to argue. Let's make what he does worthwhile, okay?"

"Right, then..." grinned Arc as his friends retreated behind him and enemies, light and dark, advanced. "Bring it on."

Figures of scurrying darkness and forms of burning light shrieked and chattered and raved angrily at him. He pushed up his yellow tinted lenses, and his eyes glinted dangerously. A faint blue shimmer turned about him.

"Wings of the Dragon, fly into the Azure Sky!"

-

Fortification.

The Chapel was empty. It did not seem that the Heartless or Shadowless would willingly reside in these upper levels. However, the trio was more than certain that they would chase them in, forbidden ground or not. They closed the doors behind them, Montblanc erecting a quick barrier over it in magic. They jumped as the door shuddered under the impact of the pressing masses outside it.

"It won't hold long," observed Sora. "They'll break that barrier before we even get to the door."

"Not if I hold it, kupo," said Montblanc.

"Not you, too," moaned Orchid.

"Don't worry," squeaked the little moogle, lines of power already drawing out a magic circle around him. "Just hurry up. The faster you end all this, the less time I'll have to work here, kupo."

"Come on," urged Sora to the young girl. "They are the Guardian and the Mage. It's their role to do whatever is needed to insure your success."

Orchid sighed. Then she nodded.

"Let's go."

-

Initiation.

"The way is closed."

The dark portal was dim and lifeless. It was nothing but a gate, placed against a wall.

"How are we going to get in?" asked Orchid worriedly.

"I think..." started Sora. He summoned his keyblade, the Oathkeeper, then pointed it at the gateway. "Open, Door to Darkness."

A ray of light shot out, and where it struck, the dark portal opened. The Door to Darkness was open.

"I'll hold this open. You go in." said Sora.

"Sora... are you sure? Don't you want to... I don't know... be more than just the door keeper?" asked Orchid.

"I already had my share of 'adventure', if that's what you mean," he said. "Besides. It's your battle in their. Your fears. Your... friend. You'll have to face him. Alone. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

She nodded a little.

"Well then... time to save the world."

"Yeah."  
And then she stepped through, and Sora was alone.

-

Confrontation.

Inside the portal, colors swirled about like a rainbow gotten out of hand. Brilliant hues blended and blurred around her, dazzling her eyes with darkened light and lightened dark. And in the middle of it all, he stood.

She gripped the keyblade tighter, and took a step forwards.

"So, you are alone," came the double-voice, both so familiar. Eriks's body turned to face her, eyes not his own. "Did your friends leave you, as all friends inevitably do? Abandon you to your hopeless fate?"

"No," she stated calmly. "They did not. They did the greatest thing friends can do; they gave themselves up for my sake. Even as we speak, they risk their very lives just so I can be here, so that I have a chance. And it won't be a chance I will waste."

"A chance?" he asked. "If you mean a chance to live, you lost that the moment you returned to the castle." He smiled mockingly at her. "And if you mean a chance to stop me... well, that never existed in the first place."

He stepped towards her, white winged keyblade in hand.

"So... what is it that you want?" he questioned her. "My death? Your home? The release of your friend?"

"I want... the truth," she said simply. "What is this all about?"

"Ah, the truth," he said. "You want to know why I do this. Can't you simply believe I do it out of sheer maliciousness and lust for power?"

"No."

"Well then. Alright."

He told her the truth. She listened. And when he was done, she sighed.  
"Do you still wish to stop me?" he asked.  
"Yes."

"So be it."

It's hard to kill your best friend.

-

Immersion

Whether they fought for days, or minutes, or years, they could not tell. Time blurred and flowed together as they fought, there in that timeless place, that roiling void of colors. The distinction between one blow and the next, one strike and one parry, one block and one counter, disappeared altogether as they became meshed together in a seamless flow, a dance of sorts. Spells ignited and were extinguished by other spells. Fire met ice, lightning met time, nightmare flowed together and clashed with light. And the weapons? There were two. One was of fair hair, eyes flashing blue. The other was of dark hair, eyes black as the night sky, deep pools in which stars gleamed. And in their hands they held keyblades, one of white, natural simplicity, the other of unearthly complexity. The Judgement Lotus and the Angel Wing. These were Keyblades of World, of Heart, of Life and of Light. There, before the Door to Darkness, before the gate behind which is Kingdom Hearts, they fought.

-

Fruitation.

"_The power is mine!_" roared Morpheus with stolen lips as he charged forwards and swung. His blade was met by another, and they were both thrown back by the burst of power. "_Blessed Blade!_"

And suddenly, he was behind her, and light was all about her. Orchid cried out as the energy, wave upon wave of holy magic, burst around her, spiraling up in a pillar of power. Then it was over, and she turned to face him, hurt, but far from finished.

"Eriks... you don't have to do this, Eriks," she pleaded as she walked towards him.

"_Fool. That boy is beyond your reach. The person you knew as Eriks is no longer,_" assured Morpheus.

"You lie!" shouted Orchid. She ran forwards and swung at him with the keyblade. "Meteor Barrage!"

The Judgement Lotus clashed against his blocks as he backed away. Blow upon blow rained down upon him, though each was expertly parried and blocked, swept to the side, stopped in its tracks. But the glow around the living keyblade only grew brighter.

"Apocalypse!"

She slammed down upon him, and the chaos of colors on which they stood shook with her impact. He blocked, but only to be thrown backwards and go flying into the air, into the infinite dimensions of the void. He halted midair, hair flapping wildly in the roiling wind-like energy of the void, jacket sizzling mildly. He raised his hand up, and in it glowed a white light.

"_Serephim, Rain of Angels_!"

The energy burst apart into a million burning stars, white hot in their intensity, and shot down at the girl. She did her best to block, but there were simply too many; he was simply too powerful. Hastily erected barriers of wind shattered under the holy barrage, and she cried out in pain as the burning lights struck her.

"_You are... persistent,_" observed Morpheus from his spot in the air as Orchid slowly stumbled to her feet. He watched calmly as she healed herself and erected a shield. He started to prepare a barrier of his own, but stopped in surprise as something came hurtling his way.

"Shooting Star!"

He blocked and spun in the air as the flying keyblade struck off his own, then came around and returned to its master's hand. He dodged nimbly from one side to the other, moving erratically through the air, all the while moving closer as she tried her best to hit him.

"Wi-!"

Orchid stopped as he suddenly dove, and was there, in front of her. He easily knocked her keyblade to the side with his own, stepped forwards, then reached up and grasped her throat. Orchid stared down into Eriks's face, into eyes that were not his as she was lifted off the ground, struggling helplessly against an inhumanly strong grip. They rose up into the air, her held above him, hands at her throat prying at his hand.

"_And now, Keyblade Master, you are mine,_" he said. "_And you, just as this boy, shall serve me down the worn paths and unworn paths, down ways hidden and forgotten, and together, we three of Arcadia shall open Kingdoms Hearts, and my goal... my dream... will be realized._"

His grip tightened.

"_Now... give in to me, for that is the path to life, to power._"

She suddenly stopped struggling.

"_Give in._"

"I...will..." she gasped slowly.

He grinned in satisfaction.

"..._never_ give in!"

Morpheus's stolen body gasped in surprise and agony as her foot flew up and came striking right into his gut, knocking the wind clear out of him. She tore away from his grasp and began falling.

"_Fine, then!_" raged Morhpeus as she plummeted downwards. "_Die!_"

_I will not die_, thought Orchid as she fell toward the firmament, eyes closed. _I will not die._

"_Once you are gone, all of Kingdom Hearts is mine!_"

_I will not die_. The ground was rushing up at her. _I will... I will..._

Her eyes snapped open.

"I will live!"  
There was an explosion of light. And then, Orchid was gone. In her place stood a being of burning golden light in her shape, keyblade in its hand.

"_That light... Sunstrike..._" murmured Morpheus as he stared down, eyes widening. Suddenly, a snarl tore across his face. "_You...you can't do this to me... Kingdom Hearts is mine!_"

He came diving down, fast enough to demolish solid stone, yet the golden flame, all aglow, blocked deftly and easily, as if he were of no moment. There was no hesitation, no pause for a girl to regret having to hurt her best friend. No, here was power, raw and final, unleashed in an ultimate form. There was no humanity, no morals. Just power.

Eriks's body went flying back up into the air as it was struck away by the burning form's keyblade. The shining star came flying up after him, keyblade in hand, and there, in the heavens of that roiling no-place, their blades clashed, and battle was made. Energy rippled out from them at every strike, every blow, power radiated as the magician fought with the sun.

"_I won't let you do this!_"

He struck. And was stopped. There, delicate wing behind it, his keyblade was held firmly, steadily, despite all his power, by its hand. In the hand of the burning star in Orchid's form.

Suddenly he was flying down, flung away. Eriks's body crashed hard against the ground, bouncing and rolling to a stop. He scrambled onto his arm's support and turned to look at her as she stood high above, floating, shining. And then the glow intensified, the brightness became a harsh, burnind glare. A star in the roiling, rainbow sky when shooting off, turning, then coming back, crashing down. And he knew where it would land.

"_That power!_" he exclaimed as he stumbled to his feet, and stared, wide eyed at his approaching doom.

Eyes afire, power glowing, his death aproached in the shape of a girl, and made of power.

There was a flash of light, and she stood before him, just a normal girl, face downcast, keyblade held limply in one hand.

"_What?_" asked Morpheus in surprise.

Eriks only stared down at her, and in that moment, his eyes were his own.

"I love you," said Orchid. Then she leaned up, and their lips softly met.

-

Emancipation.

There are no words to describe what happened then. But one may endeavor to do so anyways. It was a like a million fireworks, each a different shade of happiness, set off in what had once been eternal darkness. It was like feeling chains, long since rusted shut, shattering like ice after an eternal winter. It was like waking up to the dawn of the universe, and hearing all of life's song. It was an amazing display of lights and sounds and other overloads of the senses. It was like the taste of freedom, made visible. It was like the day when finally, finally, everything is truly all right. It was simply, and truly, good. Choose any of the above, and you may be right.

-

Conclusion...?

"Orchid," whispered Eriks softly. He held her tightly, free for the first time since he left Arcadia. And there were tears in his eyes.

"Eriks...oh, Eriks..." She clung to him desperately, wanting never to let go. And there were tears in her eyes.

"Is...is it finally over?" he asked.

"I...I think it is..." she answered softly. "He's gone. We're free."

"So...it's finally done," he sighed. "It's finally...all...right."

She merely smiled and clung tighter.

They froze as a voice pierced the silence.

_YOU... ARE MUCH MORE POWERFUL... THAN I WOULD HAVE IMAGINED. BUT IT IS NO MATTER. I GO NOW, TO OPEN THE DOOR TO LIGHT, TO RELEASE KINGDOM HEARTS. I LEAVE. BUT SO SHALL MY SERVANT._

Orchid cried out as she felt Eriks pulled away from her, as if grasped by some unseen force. She clung tightly to him, but he slid away, as if he was mist, as if he were nothing. And he was. She ran after him, tears streaming down her cheeks, and he tried to reach her, but he was insubstantial as smoke, and what pulled him was all too real. And then he was gone. It was just her, alone, inside the portal, where colors swirled like a rainbow gotten out of hand.

_I GO NOW TO THE END OF THE WORLD. THAT IS WHERE ALL THIS SHALL END._

A tear fell. It went unheard, unmourned.


	55. Respite

Meh:Uber-shorty. But really, there's not much more I can put in here. Ah, well.

* * *

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven days. Seven days since Hollow Bastion. Seven days since she freed Eriks. Seven days since he disappeared. Seven days since they closed the door. Seven days since they returned to the house in Traverse Town. Seven days she had spent locked in her room, by herself, unwilling to talk with anyone. Seven days she had thought of nothing but the past and the future. Seven days she had stared at the stone, the glittering gem that was all she had to show from their adventure into Hollow Bastion. Seven days she had pondered its mystery, this "Promise of Friend". And seven nights that she had cried herself to sleep, only to dream of him. Eriks.

And then one morning, the door opened, and she came out of her room. Everyone held their breath. And then she smiled, and all was right in the world. Orchid was back.

-

"Hey, good to see you up and about again," greeted Arc as Orchid walked into the living room and flopped down on a couch.

"Yeah, we were worried about you, kupo," squeaked Montblanc.

"Well, you don't have to be worried anymore," smiled the girl. "I just... needed some time alone, that's all."

"About time," said a serious voice. Orchid's head whirled around to see who was talking.

"Ack!"

She jumped back, hitting the opposite couch arm and flipping head over heels to land in an ungainly mess on the floor. She peeked over the edge of the furniture at the cold-eyed speaker.

"What's with her?" asked Leon calmly. Arc just shrugged.

"Well, kupo, you have remember, the last time she saw you moving, you were trying to kill her," cautioned Montblanc. He turned to the confused, and slightly scared young girl. "It's okay now. While you were locked up, Riku and Leon finished recovering. They're their normal old selves again."

"Oh..." said Orchid sheepishly, getting up. "Umm...yeah, sorry. No offense."

"None taken," answered Leon.

"So...what happens now?" asked Orchid, remembering all of the conflict that was going on.

"We wait," the brown haired man prompted.

"Wait? That's it?" she said increduously. "Him, Morpheus is out there wreaking who-knows-what havoc, Eriks has disappeared with his keyblade, the Heartless and Shadowless attacks are stronger than ever, and you say we wait?"  
"This is a war," advised Leon. "And neither side is ready quite yet. We're still gathering our pieces, setting up our defenses. The foreplay of pawns have been done out, but neither side has yet to move their knights and queens."

"And so we wait, kupo," said Montblanc.

"Just do nothing?" questioned the girl.

"No, not nothing," said Arc. "We wait, but we can work while we wait. Train. Become stronger."

"And that's why I'm here," said Leon. "Instead of with everyone else."

"Huh?" Orchid looked about the room. She listened for a moment. She noticed for the first time since she came out of her room, that they were the only ones in the house. "Where is everyone else?"

"The Colesium," answered Leon. "Phil says it's time for the Hades Cup again. That means all the big shots will be there. Perfect time to hone your skills."

"Another tournament?" asked Orchid, her eyes lighting up. "Great!" She paused. Then she asked suspiciously, "When is it?"

"Two days from now," said Leon.

"Two days...and it's going to be packed, right?"

"Yes."

"And Phil's still holding that first come, first serve rule, right?"

"Yes."

"And... everyone else has already registered."

"Yes."

"Great."

Orchid sighed, and flopped back onto the couch. It looked like they'd be starting at the bottem again.

"Wait a second," said Arc. "If you're here, aren't you going to be in it?"

"My partner's already registering," said Leon easily.

"Partner, huh?" said Arc flatly. "I have a pretty good idea who..."  
"Well, you guys better hurry," said Leon as he made for the door.

"Howcome, kupo?" asked Montblanc.

"Phil's itchin' to get the tourney started, and I'm not sure how long he'll wait for you guys to register."

"You didn't get us registered?" yelled Orchid.

"Why would I? It's your job."


	56. Begin the Hades Cup

Backies: It's been a while, but here's the next chapter. Got a new RP up and running on Gaia, FF: WEB. Stands for Final Fantasy, when the Eye Blinks. Welp, hope you like it.

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"And the the 41st seed is defeated by team Orchid!" announced Phil. The crowded stands cheered, their voices filling the Coliseum. It had been years since it had been so full. The satyr turned to the three fighters in the ring. "Nice job... for a buncha rookies."  
"I hate you," growled Arc, causing Phil to laugh. "I'll kill ya after all this is over, ya hear?"

"Kupopo... I wish we'd get some more challanging matches," murmured Montblanc.

"So do I... he still has enough breath to gripe at Phil," noticed Orchid. She swung the keyblade about aimlessly. "So what's next? More soldiers and mages?"

"And now, the 40th seed..." started Phil loudly.

"Guess we find out," said Arc, walking back over to the other two.

"Yuffie and Rikku!"

"What?" he said in surprise.

"Well, they tried to get in a tournament that last time, remember?" reminded Orchid. "Ah, here they come."

Rikku came bouncing happily out the door towards the arena, Yuffie following not far behind, waving at the crowds and doing her best to look cool. She performed a frontflip onto the tiled fighting arena when she got there, landing neatly beside her partner, Rikku.

"Well, fancy meeting you here," Yuffie grinned impudently.

"Showoff," muttered Arc.

"What was that?" shouted the ninja angrily, drawing her oversized shuriken.

"Hey, hey, the match hasn't started yet," said Orchid.

"Aaaand, start!"

"Now it has," grinned Arc, readying his sword and shield.

"Bring it on, mop top," grinned Yuffie.  
"Okay, you two get Miss Sunshine, and I'll get the loudmouth," barked Arc, before charging the ninja.

"Right, well, looks like we got you, Rikku," said Orchid.  
"No lightning?" asked the older girl.

"Yeah, of course, kupo," said Montblanc.  
"But other than that, no holds bar," added Orchid.

"Perfect," smiled Rikku.

-

"You can't beat the Great Ninja Yuffie!" she called as she neatly dodged Arc's swordstrike.

"You mean like how I couldn't last time?" he taunted smugly, punching at her with his sheild. She jumped out of the way, performing a backflip and landing easily on her feet. He grinned before swiping a leg at her. "Of course, look's like you're improved some."

"More than you have," shot back Yuffie as she dodged, then used his forehead as a jump-off point. She snickered as he stumbled back, before throwing a number of smoke bombs at him.

"Ah, crap," cursed Arc, coughing as the smoke obscured his vision. "Now where'd she go?"

-

"Watch out!"

Montblanc and Orchid narrowly evaded a thrown grenade, watching as Rikku readied another. Montblanc deflected the next with Aero, but a third exploded a bit too near them.

"Okay, where'd I put that potion..." murmured Orchid as she searched about her person.

"You mean this?" smiled Yuffie, waving a vial of liquid at them. She tossed about carelessly before popping the cork and drinking it down. "Mmm, tasty. Feel good as new!"

"Hey, that was ours!" protested Orchid.

"Well, she _is_ a theif," sighed Montblanc.

"But don't say I don't give anything back, nya-nya!" giggled Rikku, throwing another grenade their way.

-

"Come on out," Arc shouted into the darkened surroundings. He slashed his sword in frustration at the smoke.

"Over here!" called the ninja. Arc turned just in time to block a flying swarm of kunai with his sheild, though it left his arm ringing with the impact. "Can't catch me!"

"Oh, yes I can!" yelled Arc. He brazenly charged in the direction that the knives had come flying from, swinging his sword and sheild about wildly.

"What are you, a bull?" lauged Yuffie, her shadowy form dodging away in the smoke as he barrelled by.

"No... but I sure got a temper!" replied Arc. "Wings of the Dragon, fly into the Azure Sky!"

Arc swung his sword, and a great gale followed. Time blurred about his form as he swung faster and faster, the winds working up into a frenzy. Suddenly, the typhoon was unleashed, and the winds of change blew away the obscuring smoke.

"Uh-oh," said the revealed Yuffie. "That can't be good..."

"For me, it is," grinned Arc, advancing on her with a malicious smile.

-

"Have another one!" shouted Rikku happily, tossing a flash bang and a fire grenade at them. The pair shielded their eyes and dodged, only to jump back into each other. They fell in a heap while Rikku, and portions of the audience, laughed at their misfortune.

"Kupopo...my head," moaned the moogle. "She's too fast..."  
"Fast, huh?" asked Orchid. "This'll cool her jets..."  
"You gonna fight, or just gab?" teased the other girl.

"Oh, we're here to fight," smiled Orchid, running a hand across the Judgement Lotus, a blue sparkle running across it. She swung the keyblade, trailing frost, then turned to Rikku. "Blizzara Rave!"

She blurred out of vision, trailing glitters of ice behind her. Rikku cried out as the cold struck her, literally. Orchid blurred into vision behind her, then turned gracefully and disappeared again. Explosions of ice and snow went off around the older girl, frost coating her arms and legs.

"Freezing Finale!" yelled Orchid. She disappeared and ice exploded around Rikku. Orchid reappeared behind her, keyblade held out, and Rikku stood behind, ice sealing her legs to the colesium floor.

"Give up?" asked Orchid smugly.  
"This one does!" shouted Arc from where he sat on top of Yuffie's back, her arms pinned.

"We win, kupo!" exclaimed Montlanc happily.

"Great!" shouted Phil. "Only forty more to go!"

"Whaaaaat?"


End file.
